


noble blood

by lupus (khaleeseas)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (but like a good mercenary i swear), Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Assassination Attempt(s), Bodyguard / Mercenary Zuko, Chief Sokka, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Southern Water Tribe, War Ended Early AU, rating for themes and language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26933950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleeseas/pseuds/lupus
Summary: The Southern Water Tribe was no place for a firebender...or even a Fire Prince for that matter. And yet here Zuko was, not only in the South Pole’s capital itself but in the Royal Palace, protecting the tribe’s Chief after a failed assassination attempt.Chief Sokka, his old friend and a man who was intelligent and witty, yet kind of a dumbass. A man who was brave and strong and kind. A man who Zuko was utterly failing not to develop...personal feelings for.__aka: a kind of roleswap AU with Southern Water Tribe Chief Sokka and bodyguard/mercenary Zuko.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 231
Kudos: 668





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo @bisexuallsokka on tumblr made this [really great post](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/post/631426549423439872/zukka-nation-im-curious-so-reblog-or-reply-to) asking what readers wanted to see in zukka fics. a LOT of people replied saying they wanted more of Zuko in the SWT instead of sokka in the fire nation. so i ruminated on that a bit and brainstormed and that’s how this fic was born.
> 
> title comes from the song with the same name "noble blood" by tommee profitt and fleurie, it's a gorgeous song and I've been listening to it and the rest of the "gloria regalia" soundtrack on repeat while writing this (also, listen to "winter's song" from the same album and imagine them pining and looking longingly at each other with beautiful, snowy mountains as the backdrop)

Zuko’s first thought after stepping off his airship and onto the docks of the Southern Water Tribe’s capital was: _this is no place for a firebender._

His second thought was that it was actually kind of...beautiful. The sprawling city beyond glittered in the arctic sun and the backdrop of snow-covered mountains added to the wonder that was the South Pole. Zuko had never seen it himself, but he’d heard stories from both his uncle and cousin who’d come here on many diplomatic meetings - as the former and current Fire Lord respectively - as well as from his friends, who had grown up here. The South Pole now was one that was vastly different than that of the history books. When his uncle had usurped his grandfather and ended the Great War, nearly forty-five years ago, the Southern Tribe had been all but a scattering of small villages. Thanks to both the end of the war and the Fire Nation’s reparations aiding in the Southern Reconstruction Project, the South had urbanized quickly, becoming a place unlike anyone had ever dreamed it could be.

Zuko waited awkwardly on the stone docks near the central tower of the harbor where Aang had said he’d meet him. He watched the busy docks idly, merchants, fishermen, and sailors milling about loading and unloading ships. He felt incredibly out of place and like he stuck out like a sore thumb. He may have been wearing neutral clothing, as he always did on assignments, but everything else about him, from his long, dark hair, to his bone structure, to the gold of his eyes screamed Fire Nation. The burn scar over his eye didn’t help either. 

Zuko wasn’t necessarily famous in the way that Aang was, his friend was easily identifiable between the literal blue arrows tattooed on him marking his as the last airbender as well as the fact that he was the _actual Avatar._ But Zuko was still known in the way that all high-status people in their world were known of. Fire Prince Zuko. Son of the disgraced and imprisoned Ozai, grandson of the former Fire Lord and former Avatar, and currently mercenary for good. Emphasis on the _for good_ . Zuko was good at what he did. He was a skilled swordsman and an even more skilled firebender, but he’d promised himself when he’d started this that no amount of money was worth sacrificing his moral compass. His people had already caused so much strife in the lives of others, he didn’t want to add to that. His mother joked him that he was more a missionary than a mercenary, and she was probably right, but “mercenary” made Zuko sound a lot cooler. “Missionary for hire” sounded like a whole _other_ profession. 

So. No one really paid him any mind more than a few curious glances, but Zuko was always a little wary in new places. Zuko breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a familiar figure clad in orange and yellow, and _definitely_ sticking out like a sore thumb, waving enthusiastically and walking quickly towards him.

“Sifu Hotman! It’s good to see you!” Aang called excitedly immediately pulling Zuko into a hug, all formalities forgotten. 

Aang may have been twenty-five now and married for spirits’ sake but he was still wholeheartedly _Aang_ to his very core. Zuko would always love that about him. 

Zuko grinned at Aang, still getting used to the fact that he had to look _up_ at him now. “You ever gonna drop the whole ‘Sifu Hotman’ thing?”

“Never,” Aang smirked. “Now, enough chitchat! Let’s get you to the palace.”

He could see the palace from where he stood, rising above the rest of the city and backed against the mountains. It was beautiful, white and shimmery, reflecting the sun in a way that almost made it glow. He followed Aang along the docks to where a carriage awaited, pulled by a massive white polar bear-dog. Zuko made a note to himself to walk the entirety of the city as soon as he had a free chance. He needed to know his territory. 

Instead, he watched his surroundings as the carriage passed through the city. People walked the streets, tended to their business, children played. It didn’t seem like a center of political unrest. It actually seemed quite tranquil here, a rather different story from the places Zuko usually went to. 

Zuko was surprised to notice as they pulled up to the front steps of the palace, there were no gates. Only guards stationed at the foot of the stairs. The palace Zuko had grown up in had been surrounded by walls. Aang seemed to notice his observations.

“There typically weren’t even guards here before,” Aang explained. “The main floor of the palace is open to the public and is also where the Council meets. Before, only the passageways to the rest of the palace, which is residential, were guarded.”

Again, that was quite odd to Zuko. He couldn’t imagine his grandfather ever allowing commoners into the palace unless they were servants. Iroh was different, but even he wouldn’t keep any part of the palace a public place. 

“You gonna tell me why you’ve asked me here? I know it has to do with Sokka and him needing extra protection, but you didn’t specify in your letter from what or who.”

Aang looked around shiftily. “I’ll let him explain, okay? What happened isn’t exactly public knowledge and we’re trying to keep it that way.”

The guards at the front easily stepped aside, bowing their heads as Aang and Zuko passed, climbing the glittering stone steps. The main hall was mostly empty as they entered, their footsteps echoing on the marble floors through the open, spacious room. The interior of the palace itself was surprisingly warm and an attendant came to collect his coat as he shed it. 

Aang led him quietly through the main hall and to a set of guarded doors that Zuko assumed held the throne room. His hunch was correct as the doors were opened for them. 

The throne room was large with beautiful vaulted ceilings that had to go up at least three or four stories. Windows and skylights let enough light in so that the whole room was bright. 

The throne itself was rather understated and at the very back of the room on a small dais, surrounded it by water. Behind it, a peaceful waterfall softly _whooshed_ into the water below, making for peaceful white noise. It was a beautiful room, tranquil and bright. It matched what Zuko had seen of the rest of the city. 

What struck him the most was that the Chief was not sitting on the throne. Instead, he sat on the steps of the dais, surrounded by women clad in dramatic makeup and green and black armor. Kyoshi Warriors. 

It had been some time since he’d seen the Kyoshi Warriors but they’d worked together before. The group, including the Chief, paused what seemed like was a very in-depth conversation to see who’s just entered the throne room. 

“ _Zuko!_ ” a voice he’d known since childhood squealed and before he knew it, Ty Lee was bounding across the throne room and throwing herself into Zuko for an embrace. 

“Hi, Ty Lee. It’s good to see you,” Zuko said, fondly.

“Oh, I’m _so_ glad you’re here,” Ty Lee enthused. “Not only will it be like old times, but - as much as he doesn’t want to admit it - Sokka could really use your protection.”

At the mention of the Chief, Zuko looked back up to the group, all of them watching the scene unfold with bemused expressions. His eyes met Sokka’s - _Chief_ Sokka’s - and his heart skipped a little beat.

Zuko cleared his throat. “Shall we?”

Ty Lee pulled him towards the throne, one of her small hands on his bicep, Aang followed with a chuckle.

“Girls, I know you remember Zuko,” Ty Lee announced. The girls all chorused “hi.” Suki gave him a wink. “And Sokka, I know _you_ remember our mutual friend, Prince Zuko.”

Sokka stood, holding his hand out. Zuko grasped his elbow in a traditional Water Tribe greeting. Sokka quirked an eyebrow at him.

“It’s good to see you again, Sifu Hotman,” Sokka said with mischief in his voice.

Zuko sputtered and Aang burst into laughter from somewhere behind him. He’d forgotten how _chaotic_ the two of them could be together, despite the fact that they were both now not only grown men, but a fully realized Avatar and a Cheif respectively. Zuko would bet twenty yuans that they’d planned the whole “Sifu Hotman” thing on purpose.

“You guys are hilarious.” Zuko deadpanned, then grew more serious. “Thank you for having me, Chief Sokka. I’m honored to be in your service,” he bowed his head in respect.

Sokka clapped Zuko on the shoulder. “C’mon. Enough of the honorifics. There’s none of that here, especially not behind closed doors, and especially when we’ve known each other since we were teenagers.

“Anyway, come with me,” Sokka waved for Zuko to follow. “Katara’s meeting with the head of the palace guard, Shila, in my private meeting room now. We’ll explain more of what’s going on and why Aang, and I suppose I, asked you here in the first place. Then Shila will show you around the palace and its grounds so you can help her pinpoint any weak spots.” 

Sokka dismissed all of the Kyoshi Warriors but Suki and Ty Lee and he led the way, chattering with the duo while he led the group back to the main hall and then through a side hallway. Aang and Zuko followed dutifully, Zuko paying attention to the passageways in order to better get to know the castle. 

He guided them into a small room that housed a simple, round table, enough room for eight to ten people. Picturesque windows overlooked the city below, which made Zuko realize this room was at the front, north-facing part of the palace. Katara was stationed at the table and a woman he didn’t recognize - who he assumed must be Shila - sat next to her. They were pouring over what looked like blueprints. 

“It’s the layout of the castle,” Sokka explained

At Sokka’s voice, the duo at the table looked up as the others filed in around the table. Katara stood, greeting Zuko warmly. Shila clasped his arm in way of the Tribe’s greeting. Her skin was as dark as Sokka and Katara’s, but her hair was black, with subtle streaks of grey, and her eyes hazel. 

“You’re part Fire Nation, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Observant,” she praised. She opened her hand and a small flame appeared. “It’ll be nice not to be the only firebender in the South Pole.”

Zuko liked her already. Shila and Katara sat back down, and Zuko took one of the only chairs left, next to Sokka. 

“So, a few weeks ago, there was an attempt on my life,” Sokka explained casually, like he was saying that a few weeks ago he had a rather good pie for dessert. 

“Attempt on your life, as in _assassination_ attempt?” Zuko hissed.

“Yes,” Sokka waved off Zuko’s concern. “It’s fine. I’m here, I’m still alive, it happens.”

Zuko looked around the table incredulously. Katara’s face mimicked that of what Zuko was feeling, a mixture of anger at whoever had tried to kill Sokka as well as disbelief at his blasé attitude over the whole thing. Everyone else’s faces - even Ty Lee’s - sat somewhere between stressed and grim. At least everyone else was taking this seriously.

“I was attacked in the palace by a couple of people in masks and hoods. It was at night and it was hard to see. It seemed like three men, I did a fairly good job of fighting them off in the beginning but at least one of them was a waterbender so I was outmatched. I won’t get into detail, but let’s just say, if Katara hadn’t rounded the corner at just the right moment, it’s doubtful I’d be sitting with you now,” Sokka finally grew serious. “Thank the spirits you and Aang decided to come down here early to help us plan the Glacier Spirits Festival, huh?”

“I was so wrapped up in making sure you were okay, I didn’t even get an ID on any of them,” Katara muttered, brow pinched in frustration. “By the time I even thought about it, they were gone.” 

“It’s not your fault,” Aang consoled, resting a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “You saved Sokka. That’s the most important part.”

“Aang sent out two hawks the morning it happened with vague messages,” Sokka continued. “It’s hard for me, for us, to know who to trust right now, so we didn’t want to put too much information in the letters in case they were intercepted.”

“The girls and I were luckily on Kyoshi Island and so we received our hawk within the day and were in the South Pole shortly thereafter,” Suki said. 

“You were a little harder to pin down, but Hawky is nothing if not persistent, so here you are,” Sokka added. “I suppose it was a good thing you were in the Southern Earth Kingdom and got here in pretty good time. Gotta hand it to those Fire Nation airships.”

“Why the time crunch?” Zuko asked.

“The Glacier Spirits Festival starts next week,” Katara explained. “Lots of people, lots of crowds, lots of public events that Sokka has to take part in. While I don’t think his attackers want to make a public spectacle of any of this, big events like this will give them cover as well as an opportunity to try again.”

“Do you have any idea who’s behind this?” Zuko asked. From what he understood and had heard through the grapevine, Sokka was almost universally adored by his people. 

Sokka and Katara exchanged a look and Sokka began to explain.

“As you probably know, my dad stepped down as Chief about eight years ago. I was twenty and I felt nowhere near ready to step up as the next Chief, so I sat the election out. Another man, Kaskae, won that year. And while he wasn’t necessarily a _bad_ leader, he wasn’t exactly a good one either.” 

“If it weren’t for the democracy of the Council limiting his powers, he would’ve probably run the place into the ground,” Katara cut in. 

“We vote on the Chief every four years...if there are contenders against the current chief, that is,” Sokka continued. “So, when I was twenty-four I ran for Cheif and, obviously seeing as we’re all siting here, won.”

“I’m assuming this Kaskae guy was _none_ too happy about that,” Zuko muttered, more to himself than anything else. 

“Exactly,” Sokka agreed. “But he was a good sport, at first. Probably biding his time, thinking I’d screw up or something and he could run against me again and beat me out.”

“Except that was absolutely not the case,” Katara said. “Sokka won the Chief nomination again this past year, in a landslide.” 

“His people adore him. From what I’ve gathered there was no true competition,” Suki added.

“Yeah well quite obviously enough of them don’t adore me enough that a small group of people want me dead. We think it’s Kaskae and what we’re assuming is a small band of loyal followers, but we have no proof,” Sokka bemoaned. “And I can’t exactly go around accusing my political rival of trying to assassinate me without some solid proof. It’s really not a good look.” 

“That’s where you come in,” Ty Lee said. 

“You don’t just want me for protection. You want me to figure out beyond a shadow of a doubt who’s behind all of this,” Zuko said. 

Sokka nodded. “We’ve heard of what you can do, how you’ve helped other people. And all of us here know we can trust you. Still, this could be dangerous, even deadly. Are you in?”

For Sokka, for his friends, there was no question.

“I’m in.”

* * *

Shila showed him the blueprints of the castle she and Katara had been working on. As head of security and someone who pretty much grew up in the palace respectively, the two of them knew the place better than almost anyone and had already picked the weak spots they knew from personal experience. Shila told him she still wanted to do a sweep with Zuko to have another opinion. Shila’s expertise was in keeping people out of places, but Zuko’s were in getting _into_ places.

For the most part, Shila had done an excellent job of pointing out the weak spots in the castle. Zuko still had her take him on a thorough tour of the entirety of the inside, memorizing the halls and passageways to the best of his abilities. He’d study the blueprints and walk the halls more later to engrain them in his memory. He needed to familiarize himself if he was going to protect Sokka properly. 

Shila chatted with him as they walked. She seemed like a no-nonsense woman but was still friendly.

“Here’s the thing, Sokka is almost convinced that whoever almost got him the first time is made up of people from his Council,” Shila confided. 

That surprised Zuko. “I thought that Suki said his people love him?”

“They do,” Shila agreed. “But some of the Council are either loyal to Kaskae or still owe him for whatever reason from back when he was Chief. There was a Council meeting earlier in the evening the night Sokka was attacked. He thinks whoever it was stayed behind after hours and then snuck up on him. It’s a good theory. People rarely slip through my guards’ defenses, even before all of this. We’ve been making a point to do sweeps of the palace after Council meetings now.”

“Can’t he just...get rid of those that he knows are still loyal to Kaskae?” Zuko asked, but even as he said it, he knew Sokka would never abuse his power like that.

“The Council Members are elected by the people of the South Pole, just as the Chief is. I don’t think Sokka would though, even if he could. Though sometimes I wish he would and could. Some of the Council Members are a little... _old-fashioned_. Sokka’s definitely far more progressive than Kaskae was and his current Council is also more progressive than the Council even former Chief Hakoda governed over. Sokka made changes in his first four years that some of the older fuddy-duddies got their panties in a wad about.”

“Such as…?” Zuko probed. 

“Well, one of the first things he pushed for was for same-sex marriage to be recognized by the law of the Tribe. Being gay has never been punishable by law here or anything of the like, not like how it was in the Fire Nation before your uncle took over, but same-sex marriages here have never quite been legal officially. Most of his Council was incredibly supportive of his push and voted for it.’ The opposers were pretty few but _very_ loud about the final decision.”

Zuko tried not to overthink that piece of information. He wondered if Sokka’s interest in the legality of same-sex marriage was because Sokka might one day want to marry another man, or if it was just because - 

Zuko cut his wandering thoughts off. It didn’t matter _why_ Sokka did it. That was none of Zuko’s business. He wasn’t here to wonder about Sokka’s love life, he was here to protect him. 

“My uncle and cousin have dealt with a lot of similar situations back home, especially as they’ve weakened the power of the monarchy and given more power to the common people,” Zuko said to change the subject. “The old-fashioned and high-born don’t particularly like their power taken from them, especially when that power is transferred to the people they consider below them.”

Zuko’s mention of their shared roots sent Shila into another topic of conversation, praising the ways in which the Fire Nation had changed, especially since all the years ago when her father was born there. 

Once they were done inside the palace, they circled the exterior perimeter of the building itself. There were truly only a few entrances, all of which remained fully operational but guarded twenty-four seven. Shila pointed to the central, topmost tower of the palace.

“You see that east-facing balcony? Those are the Chief's chambers. While the central tower is tall, I also fear that someone who truly wanted to could scale it and sneak into his rooms. Not exactly an easy task but not impossible, either.”

Zuko nodded his agreement. “Definitely not impossible. Still, I don’t want to seal off Sokka’s windows and make him feel like a prisoner in his own home. Maybe we can have some of the waterbending guards bend some ice on the side of the tower so that it’s harder to scale? And then on top of that, I can absolutely booby-trap the balcony and window ledges. Even if they made it up the tower, they’d get blasted off the side of it before they even had a chance to slip through his windows.”

“I like the way you think,” Shila complimented.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Zuko said, also to remind himself.

He was here to work, he was here to catch the people trying to kill the leader of a nation. 

He repeated that sentiment to himself over and over and over again as he ate dinner with Sokka, Aang, and Katara. The other three reminisced on their time spent together as teenagers, that one spring and summer in the Fire Nation. Eventually, their ribbing and teasing and overall jovial attitudes - even in the midst of all that was happening - caught on to Zuko and he found himself laughing and joining in, realizing how little had changed between all of them. Aang recounted the time he and Zuko almost set one of the Fire Nation Palace’s shrines on fire while they sparred and Aang’s dramatic retelling of it nearly had Zuko in stitches. He caught the soft, fond look Sokka gave him as he laughed and his heart skipped a beat, not for the first time in the Chief’s presence that day. It sobered him a bit.

Throughout the rest of the dinner, Zuko still played along, but he repeated his mantra in the back of his head.

_You are here to protect him. You are here for a job, as a favor. Do not let your feelings get in the way._

_Do_ not _let your feelings get in the way._

* * *

“So, we set up one of my extra rooms in my chambers as your bedroom,” Sokka explained, leading Zuko through the ornate doors that led to Sokka’s rooms. The main area was filled with plush rugs and squashy couches. It was in direct juxtaposition to the cool, marble architecture of the rest of the palace. “Personally, I felt you could get away with sleeping in your own chambers down the hall, but Katara insisted you at least be in here with me in some capacity. I all but had to talk Katara out of pulling an extra bed into my bedroom or having her convince you to sleep in my bed _with_ me.”

Zuko did not need to think about sharing a bed with Sokka in any capacity, whatsoever, so he quickly changed the subject. 

“Just for my own personal knowledge, will Suki be joining you tonight?”

“Hmmm?” Sokka asked. “Oh, no. No one will be joining me tonight, or any night really for that matter, until this is all settled. Besides, Suki and I broke up years ago. In the year following Aang and Katara’s wedding. Right before I became Chief.”

“And it isn’t weird now, having her as one of your personal guards?”

“Nah not at all,” Sokka assured him. “Suki and I will always love each other, but when I decided to move home and run for Chief, we realized in order to be together one or the other of us would’ve had to give up something we love. I didn’t want to make her choose me over being a Kyoshi Warrior and she didn’t want me to have to choose between her and my Tribe.”

“That’s...weirdly mature,” Zuko said.

“It was. Didn’t make it any less hard but it was definitely for the best,” Sokka admitted.

“And now?”

“Now Suki remains one of my best friends,” Sokka shrugged. “Time hasn’t changed either of our circumstances and the reasons we broke up are still acting factors in our lives. Besides, I totally think there’s _something_ going on between Suki and Ty Lee, even if they won’t admit it to me.”

Well...all of _that_ was news to Zuko. 

“So, how does it feel having an ex-girlfriend and her band of legendary warriors, a childhood friend, your sister, and your brother-in-law who just so happens to be the Avatar all breathing down your neck at all hours of the day, trying to protect you?” Zuko asked, trying to change the subject from anything related to romantic relationships.

“Well, It’s all very sweet that everyone cares about me so much,” Sokka admitted.

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence.”

“ _But_ I’m a full-grown man, a chieftain, and a warrior. Can I protect myself? Yes. Do I necessarily want to be babysat? No. Still, will I - begrudgingly - admit when I’m out of my depth? Sure,” Sokka pondered for a moment. “I’m not used to other people protecting me, so you’ll have to bear with me for a bit while I get used to the growing pains. I’ve been the one protecting other people the majority of my life: my sister, Aang, my Tribe. But almost dying changes your perspective about a lot of things. I’m not necessarily scared of death, I’m truly a little more concerned with the turmoil my assassination would throw the city into, nevermind the effect it would have on the people I love.”

What a selfless idiot. 

“You’re a selfless idiot,” Zuko said without thinking, then immediately bit his tongue. “Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Sokka only laughed. 

“You’re not wrong,” he shrugged. “And I mean it when I say this. You may be working for me as my bodyguard, spy, _whatever_ , but I want us to be equals. Now, more than ever, I need people around me who I can trust and who will be honest with me. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, Chief,” Zuko bowed his head respectfully.

“Zuko,” Sokka chided. “How many times am I gonna have to ask you to just call me ‘Sokka?’”

“At least once more, Chief,” Zuko replied.

Sokka simply rolled his eyes. “Fine, _Mr. Proper._ At least stop with all the bowing and stuff. You’re a Prince. Use formalities all you want, but as I said, I want us to be equals.”

“Noted,” Zuko acknowledged. 

“Alright. Well. You have fun boobytrapping all the external entrances to my room or whatever it is you said you’re doing to ward off my naughty, would-be assassins. I am going to take a long, hot bath and then promptly pass out. All of this almost-getting-assassinated nonsense followed by everyone being excessively overprotective over me has left me rather stressed.”

“Do you need me to heat up your water?” Zuko offered, stupidly. Why did being around Sokka make him say the most foolish things?

Sokka paused for a minute before chuckling. “We have a hot water heater so I’m all good. Thanks for the offer though, I guess this is what Aang meant when he said you’d be a full-service bodyguard, huh?”

Sokka winked and thankfully turned towards the double doors to his bedroom before he could see the blush rise to Zuko’s face. Zuko was a grown-ass man, he was way too old for Sokka to be having the same effect on him that he did when they were dumb, hormonal teenagers. He’d thought the crush that had arisen for the man that summer he, Aang, Katara, and Toph had spent in the fire nation had long been buried, but it appeared otherwise. 

Zuko took a deep breath, centering himself. He had to stay neutral and he had to do his job. He could care for Sokka as a friend and someone he was protecting, but he couldn’t let any other type of personal attachment cloud his judgment. This was about Sokka’s life and safety, as well as keeping the peace and balance in the Southern Water Tribe. 

Zuko’s silly, adolescent feelings could wait. 

_Do not let your feelings get in the way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (also YEAH that part where zuko says "at least once more, Chief" is absolutely stolen from will/elizabeth in pirates of the caribbean bc they INVENTED pining)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy WOW i was not expecting all the love and comments that you all left on the last chapter thank you so much 🥺🥺 anyway...here's almost 6k more worth of words. i did not expect this chapter to be so long but either way, enjoy!
> 
> (also i did a suuuper rough edit of this chapter - ill go back and do a full one later - but please let me know if anything is glaringly wrong or seems like its missing!)

Zuko woke with a start as he heard the sound of a door creaking open. He sat up quickly from the couch, reaching instinctively for his Dao blades that he’d left on the coffee table the night before.

He was a very light sleeper, especially if he slept on his bad ear. After he’d laid his traps on Sokka’s windowsills the night before - taking care to do the ones in Sokka’s rooms as thoroughly and quickly as possible while the other man was in the bath so he wouldn’t have to be confronted with a shirtless, wet Sokka in only a towel - he still didn’t quite feel comfortable falling asleep in his new room with two closed doors between the Chief and himself. After pacing for a few hours, he’d eventually crashed on one of Sokka’s too-soft couches.

The creaking door turned out to only be the door to Sokka’s room opening as a sleep rumpled, yawning Sokka came into the common area. Zuko had to admit he was surprised, it was barely dawn and very few people woke before Zuko. The Sokka he’d known as a teenager was always still fast asleep by the time Zuko had finished his morning meditations, typically waking just in time for breakfast. 

Sfeeing Zuko half-seated on one of his couches, Sokka shot him a look. “Did you sleep there?”

“Maybe.”

“You know I literally had an entire room set up for you. With an actual bed,” Sokka deadpanned, sounding slightly annoyed. “If someone’s gonna try to kill me again, It won’t be now when I’ve just narrowly evaded them the first time and have upped my personal guards tenfold. It’ll be later, once the dust settles and they think I’ve grown comfortable. Or during the festival, using the cover of all the crowds and excitement.”fexc

“You’re right,” Zuko admitted.

“I know I am.”

“Fine. How about a compromise?” Zuko offered. “I’ll sleep in my room, but I’ll leave the door open.” 

“I can live with that,” Sokka agreed. He shuffled over to the double-doored entrance of his chambers and wheeled a dining cart back in. Zuko heard him bid good morning to the guards stationed at his doors. There were two covered trays, a pitcher of water, and what looked like a loose-leaf teapot.

Sokka motioned for Zuko to help himself as he started on his tea. 

“Don’t you have people to make you tea?” Zuko asked. “The same ones who dropped the tray off?”

“Maybe,” Sokka shrugged. “But it’s easier to do it myself. Besides, last time your uncle was here he showed me the best way to brew a jasmine and green tea mix. Mine isn’t as good as his, but no one else can quite get the brew even close.”

Sokka had what looked like a semi-formal dining area on the other side of his chambers, but he simply grabbed one of the trays and plopped onto the couch opposite Zuko, placing it on the coffee table. 

“Well go in, dig in. We have a Council meeting this morning and I want you to observe and see if there’s anyone you find suspicious.”

“Does your Council know of the attempt?” Zuko asked, following Sokka’s orders to eat his breakfast.

“Yes, but they don’t know all the details,” Sokka said as he poured two cups of tea. “Like we said last night, I think whoever attacked me originally is part of the Council, working for Kaskae. I didn’t want them to know I was on to them, so Katara and I told them of the attempt, but fudged our suspicions a bit. We told them we had intel it was a rogue from the Northern Tribe attempting to incite a civil war, hence why the increased security with the coming festival.”

“Smart,” Zuko acknowledged. “That will make them comfortable, make them think you’re not on to them.”

“Exactly,” Sokka agreed. “So after I’m done with the Council, I’m meeting with Katara and some of the others on the festival committee. The Kyoshi girls can take over at that point. I want you to keep a close eye on the Councilors after the meeting. It would also be a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with the city as well.”

Zuko nodded. It was a good plan. They finished breakfast with lighter conversation and when Sokka stood to clean up and go get dressed, he stopped Zuko.

“Oh. Also. If you’re gonna be sneaking around and trying to spy on my enemies, you should at least try a little bit to not stick out like a sore thumb.”

Zuko huffed. “It’s not like I planned to go galavanting around in my Fire Nation Prince regalia.”

“Maybe not,” Sokka gave him a wry grin. “Still, there’s a collection of Water Tribe clothing in your wardrobe, which you would’ve known had you _actually_ gone into your room last night. Also, aren’t those the same pants you wore when you got here?” 

They were.

Zuko’s silence was enough confirmation for Sokka.  
“Gross. Go change.”

Zuko did as he was told, shutting himself in his room and opening the wardrobe which was stocked with a nice assortment of similar clothing pieces, all varying shades of blue, with accents of white and brown.

He changed into a fresh undershirt and pulled a pair of dark blue trousers on. They were a thick material, and tight, definitely made for the cold and definitely very different from the loose pants he was used to - both back home and in his every day, non-Fire Nation wardrobe.

The long-sleeved tunic was a lighter shade of blue and Zuko noted it’s also slightly lighter material as well he pulled it on and cinched it. The front and back flaps of the tunic fell to mid-thigh length. There were fur accents at the shoulders which made Zuko believe it was a more high-end piece. There was also a pair of gloves, which Zuko tucked into his sash, and a _really_ nice pair of supple leather boots. They were lined with fur that matched the tunic and as Zuko pulled them on, he had to admit that they were really damn comfortable. 

Last was a parka hung on at the very end of the rack within the wardrobe. Zuko grabbed it but chose to fold it over his arm in lieu of wearing it. It was warm in the palace and Zuko was a _firebender_ for spirits’ sake, he could keep himself warm. But he also knew that Sokka was right. If he was out and about in the literal frozen tundra without a jacket, he’d attract more attention than necessary. 

He took a peek at himself in the full-length mirror his room housed and he had to admit he looked kind of...good. The blue softened him almost, and while red was definitely his color, he could get used to the blue. He took his long hair out of his partial topknot and instead pulled it up into a half-ponytail. He looked about as Southern Water Tribe as it was gonna get

As a finishing touch, he strapped his Dao blades onto his back and then went out to face Sokka’s judgment. 

“How do I look?” he asked Sokka, holding his arms out and doing a little twirl for good measure. Sokka himself was dressed in what Zuko assumed were his _official_ Chief robes. They were fancy and trimmed in white fur all over and even had an accompanying cape that sat over one shoulder and should’ve really looked at least a _little_ douchey but damn if it didn’t just _work_ on Sokka. 

Sokka merely stared for a moment face blank and, oh, Zuko probably put something on wrong? Or maybe it didn’t look as good as he thought? Before Sokka seemed to shake himself out of whatever he was thinking. 

“You look great! Sorry, it’s just...weird seeing you in blue,” Sokka finished. “It’s a good color on you though.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too,” Zuko admitted. 

Sokka cleared his throat and clapped his hands together. “Anyway! Shall we?”

* * *

Zuko acted as Sokka’s shadow during the meeting, as Niko and Sora from the Kyoshi guards stood to watch at the door to the Council chamber. Much of the conversation was focused on the coming festival as well as preparations for the arrival of the Northern Water Tribe’s Chief and other dignitaries. Apparently, a big feast was to be held the night the Northerners were scheduled to arrive which was news to Zuko. He, again, didn’t think large, public events were the best idea right now, but he grudgingly understood that such things couldn't exactly be canceled. 

Zuko sank back into the edges of the room, observing Sokka’s Councilors. They varied in both age and gender, and overall it seemed a good group of people to be governing the people of the South. 

At the start of the meeting, nearly all eyes had been on him. Sokka had introduced him casually, explaining the heightened security as a precaution with his recent attack and the coming festival. Some gazes were inquisitive, others indifferent, but Zuko felt a select few that were just downright hostile. Zuko made a note to familiarize himself with the people behind those gazes, watching them with extra attention through the meeting. 

The meeting adjourned shortly after noon, and Sokka announced it would be the last until after the festival which seemed to have everyone in good spirits. Sokka broke for lunch, Niko and Sora following him, and Zuko stayed behind, as earlier directed. Zuko hung back, slipping back into the shadows of the palace halls as he watched the Councilors disperse. Most of them headed immediately out and into the city beyond. Zuko knew from Shila’s tour the night before that the Councilors’ offices were in a government building directly across the street from the palace, and from the sounds of the chatter around him, some were going to their offices to get more work done while others were just going straight home. Some lingered to have conversations with each other but they didn’t stay too long. Zuko was about to set off into the city to better learn its streets and layouts when someone approached him. He recognized the man as one of the people who fell into his “hostile gaze” category. 

“Excuse my curiosity,” the man said. “But what business does the Prince of the Fire Nation have in being our Chief’s new guard dog?”

Zuko admittedly bristled at the man’s tone - though he hid it well - and especially the way he said “Fire Nation” like it was a curse on his tongue. His homeland had come a long way and had also done a lot to repay the world for the nearly-sixty years of crimes it had committed previously, but sometimes Zuko forgot that some people would always hold a grudge. Still, the man couldn’t be much older than himself so the grudge couldn’t have been all that personal. 

“Chief Sokka is an old friend. I’m here as a personal favor to both him and the Avatar,” Zuko responded, coolly. “I no longer have any ties to the political happenings in the Fire Nation, regardless of my title. Trust me when I say: I will do whatever it takes to protect your Chief.”

The last part was a not-so-thinly veiled threat. The Councilor’s eyes hardened. Something about him told Zuko’s gut that the other man couldn’t be trusted. 

“Forgive me,” the man said in a tone that suggested he had no interest in Zuko’s forgiveness. “The Chief is an old friend of my own as well. We grew up together. I am simply looking out for his well-being, especially after the recent attack. I’m sure my distrust is understood.”

“The war was over long before either of us were born, and the Fire Nation has made great strides to better itself since. Any issues you have with me or my home country are on you,” Zuko countered. “Your Chief and the Avatar himself trusted me enough to ask me here. Shouldn’t that trust be enough for you?”

The other man set his jaw, puffing his chest like he was about to continue with his argument when they were interrupted.

“Amaruq, that’s enough,” chided a calm voice as another Councilor, grey-haired and weathered, came up, tugging at Amaruq’s arm. “My apologies, your Highness,” the other man said with a slight bow of his head. “I’ll get him out of your hair.”

The older man pulled Amaruq down the hall, and Zuko gave them a head start before following as silently as possible on gut instinct alone. He found them having a muttered argument in the hallway and Zuko carefully tucked himself into an alcove, straining with his good ear to attempt to hear what they were saying. 

Very little of it made sense, due to the fact that Zuko was only catching snippets of conversation and was also clearly out of the loop, but three things struck out: warehouse district, tonight, and eight PM.

Zuko pressed himself as flat into the alcove as he could, holding his breath as the duo passed him continuing to whisper, thankfully unaware of Zuko’s presence. 

Zuko gave himself a moment before following once again, throwing on his parka. The pair exited the palace, splitting off after they descended the steps. Zuko followed Amaruq as casually as possible through the snowy streets, not that it mattered, the other man was completely oblivious to Zuko’s presence. He weaved through the streets, memorizing the path Amaruq was taking from the palace so that Zuko could find him again later. Amaruq eventually turned onto a residential street not too far from the palace that was lined with nicely-kept townhomes. Zuko made note of which was his, so he’d remember which to stake out later. 

Once Amaruq was inside, Zuko waited some time to ensure he wasn’t coming back out before he took back off through the streets. He made his way to the palace and from there, walked the roads of the Northern Water Tribe’s capital. He stopped for street food along the way - some sort of fish fry on a stick that really was actually quite good - as he’d missed lunch and continued to make his way through the city until he noticed the sun would be setting soon. He headed back towards the palace, catching a carriage-taxi to save time, promising himself he’d continue his canvassing of the city the next day.

Sokka was more than likely expecting him for dinner, and he needed to let him know he’d be out late gathering intel later that evening.

* * *

Sokka seemed shocked and definitely upset about Zuko’s suspicions of Amaruq. 

They ate dinner in Sokka’s little meeting room, the original group all there to discuss Zuko’s findings. 

“We’ve all been friends since we were kids,” Katara said sadly, her reactions mirroring her brother’s. “I don’t want to believe he could be capable of this.”

“Maybe Kaskae has something on him and pulled him into this as blackmail. Maybe he owes him,” Aang offered, a consoling hand on Katara’s shoulder. 

The others chorused their agreement. But Sokka remained quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“You’re sure of it?” Sokka asked, grim. 

“Yes,” Zuko assured. He wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t.

Sokka just nodded. “Then stake out his place and if needed, follow him tonight. Be careful.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Sokka’s mouth quirked at Zuko’s propriety, but he said nothing else. He simply stood from the table, bowing to the others, before leaving the room, Suki following him as his guard until Zuko’s return. He’d barely touched his food.

Zuko ate enough to sustain himself then quickly left dinner as well, squeezing Ty Lee’s - who’d been giving him concerned looks through the meal - shoulder as he went. This was a dangerous group, but he’d be fine.ex

Zuko made a stop by his room in Sokka’s quarters - they were otherwise empty, and Zuko wondered where he’d gone off to - to change into his stealth suit to slip into the night. It was barely half-past seven when he made his way into the city streets, but the sun had set two hours prior, so the night was already dark, 

Zuko hadn’t even been staked out on the rooftop across the street of Amaruq’s townhouse for ten minutes when the man exited wrapped in a parka and walking quickly down the street.

Zuko immediately followed him, jumping from roof to roof, silent as a shadow. He had to be careful, as many of the roofs were at least partially covered in snow, but Zuko was agile and had worn shoes that gave him a fairly good grip, so it wasn’t too difficult after all. 

The buildings slowly shifted from residential to commercial to what Zuko assumed was the “warehouse district” on the edge of town, near the foot of the mountains. It was definitely so far off the beaten path, Zuko would’ve never even known it existed had he not overheard the earlier conversation. Zuko saw the weathered man from earlier waiting outside a building about a block down and he knew he’d found his target. The building was pretty dilapidated, so finding a good vantage point to listen would be fairly easy. 

Zuko made his way carefully back to ground level and situated himself under an old window that was rusted half-open. He could hear the murmured conversation, currently about not much at all, and Zuko could pinpoint four separate voices - three male, one female. It was some time before a fifth voice disrupted the hushed chatter. 

“Thank you for coming,” the voice said. 

Zuko peeked up, just enough so that he could see the group. Sure enough, the other two voices belonged to two others that Zuko recognized from the council. He memorized the descriptions so he could relay them to Sokka and the others. 

The newcomer was tall and imposing. He looked to be about their parents' age, crows feet, and stress lines evident on his face, his dark brown hair and beard streaked with grey. He fit the old Chief’s portrait Sokka had shown him of Kaskae to a tee. This was undoubtedly their man.

“As we’re all aware, our last plan to rid the Tribe of Chief Sokka failed. Miserably,” Kaskae turned his gaze to the three men of the group. 

“How were we supposed to know that his actual waterbending master of a sister was going to be there?” the third man asked. “Otherwise it would’ve gone off without a hitch!”

“Silence,” Kaskae ordered, and the man obeyed. “Because of your failure, the whole palace is on high alert. It’s only by the grace of the Spirits themselves that the three of you weren’t caught and that Sokka and his gang of idiots were given false intel that his attackers were from the North. Otherwise, this whole operation would be for naught.”

The others stayed silent. 

“Still. The first failure made me realize that perhaps we were going to go about this all wrong,” Kaskae continued. “So, our primary goal with our next - and hopefully final - attempt will be not to assassinate Sokka on sight, but to kidnap him instead.

“Taking him to a secondary location will not only aid us in fending off his guard dogs, but it may also aid us in finishing this a little more peacefully and with far fewer prying eyes. The upcoming feast will be the perfect opportunity. With the Council in recess, until the festival is over and the palace so heavily guarded, this may be our only shot.

“Amaruq. This will be your night to prove yourself. As Councilors and the former Chief, we’ll all be in attendance, but you are the one that Sokka trusts the most. I need you to find a way to Isolate him, to get him alone.”

“That won’t be an easy feat with the way the Fire Nation Prince hovers around him,” Amaruq muttered. 

“The rest of them will keep the firebender busy while you deal with Sokka. Incapacitate him if you must, but do not cause the Prince any harm. We don’t want an international incident here,” Kaskae said and Zuko had to hold back a snort. They were okay with committing murder for their own political gain but didn’t want to cause an ‘international incident?’ “Besides, he’s a firebender. We’ll have the advantage of both being in our homeland as well as the full moon.”

Again, Zuko fought back a snort. Maybe they were right about his bending being at its weakest here in the South Pole, but he was just as skilled with his blades. He’d like to see then try to take him down.

The rest of the meeting didn’t last too long, as the group had no true, solid plan for the banquet or how exactly they were going to pull it all off. They also didn’t specify what they were going to do with Sokka after Amaruq got him alone, but Zuko had more than enough pertinent information to pass along as well as enough to stop whatever the rest of their plot turned out to be.

The group promised to meet again before the feast, but gave no further information, and eventually dispersed. Zuko scaled back onto the roof of the adjacent building, ensuring they were all gone before he snuck into the warehouse itself.

No leftover evidence remained, no trace of the meeting other than footprints in the dirt, and so Zuko gave up on attempting to divulge any other information that night. Instead he slipped back through the city streets, using the shining palace as a beacon to find his way back. He fumed on Sokka’s behalf a little as he walked, thinking of Amaruq and his betrayal. At some point - once this was all over and all five of them were behind bars - Zuko wanted to get that little fucker alone and demand from him why he decided to betray Sokka. Why he’d choose Kaskae over his Chief, his _friend._

He worked it through his system as he walked so that by the time he was back through the palace doors, calling an emergency meeting with Aang and Katara joining them in Sokka’s chambers, he was level-headed enough to tell the group what he’d heard. 

“So we were right? Kaskae’s the ring leader?” Sokka asked solemnly. 

Zuko nodded.

“And Amaruq was definitely there?”

“They’re gonna try to use him to single you out,” Zuko said and Sokka’s expression darkened.

“Fucker,” Sokka muttered, mimicking Zuko’s earlier thoughts. 

“So. Sokka is to go nowhere unaccompanied at the feast,” Katara started, to Sokka’s visual displeasure. 

“And I’ll pass along your descriptions of each of the group members to both my girls and Shila so she can let the palace guards know,” Suki said. “We’ll have guards keeping tabs on every member of the group at all times.”

“Or we could use me as bait, ambush Amaruq and the others, and get this over with once and for all,” Sokka offered.

“No,” the rest of them said in near-unison. 

“Anyway,” Zuko said, shooting Sokka a disapproving look. “We’ll increase security at the feast and have guards dispersed in the crowd in plainclothes as well. After the feast is over, Sokka will be escorted directly to his rooms and the rest of us will sweep the castle, ensuring there are no stragglers.”

“And either Katara or I should remain close to Sokka so we can fend off the waterbenders of the group if need be,” Aang added.

“If possible, we should try to see if we can’t isolate one of _them_ ,” Suki added. “See if we can’t get one of them to give us information or confess.”

They all looked to Sokka for his approval of the plan. 

“Fine.” he conceded, though his expression was still sour. “I supposed I can deal with being babysat for one night if it means sparing my life and keeping peace in the Tribe.”

Katara just rolled her eyes, but she and Aang bid them all goodnight and left Sokka’s chambers. 

Suki hung back, pulling Sokka into a hushed conversation that Zuko refrained from eavesdropping on by going to his room and changing into his sleep clothes. By the time he came back, Suki was gone and Sokka was out on his balcony off the main room looking lost in thought. The opened glass doors let in the frigid night air, but Sokka seemed to barely notice the chill. He stared, unseeing over his twinkling, sleep-quiet city. 

“I’m sorry it all happened this way,” Zuko said, walking up next to his friend and pulling Sokka from his introspection.

“It’s fine,” Sokka sighed. “I’m sorry for being such a wretch about it. Like I said, this whole being the protectee thing is not what I’m used to. That and the feast and festival are supposed to be _fun_. Not just for me, for everyone. Now all my friends and guards are going to have to spend the entire time hoping I don’t get kidnapped.”

“The people who love you are more than happy to take one night of fun off in order to keep you safe,” Zuko assured him. “But I wasn’t even really talking about that. I’m sorry that your friend betrayed you like this. I can’t imagine how much that hurts.”

Sokka set his jaw. “It’s the price of being the Chief, sometimes.”

“It shouldn’t have to be,” Zuko countered quietly. “Five people, four of which seem to be heavily under the influence of their leader, opposing you in an entire Tribe full of people is pretty damn good numbers if you ask me. Iroh had hordes of people who opposed him when he usurped my grandfather, even if it was for the better. I can’t tell you how many times people tried to assassinate him, even by the time I was born. You’re a great leader and a good man. The kind of man who can and does inspire loyalty. Your people are lucky to have you, Sokka. You are exactly what your Tribe needs.” 

Sokka took a great, shuddering breath before turning to Zuko with a vulnerable expression etched across his face. Sokka seemed to pause for a moment before pulling Zuko into a tight hug.

“Thank you, Zuko. I needed that. I’m glad you’re here,” Sokka whispered.

“Me too, buddy.”

* * *

The rest of the week flew by in a blur of planning for the feast and festival while also planning to keep Sokka safe during both. During the days Zuko split his time between memorizing the streets of the capital or working closely with Shila and Suki as well as the guards to ensure maximum security at the feast. Zuko thought their plans were fairly airtight if he did say so himself. Still, Zuko could tell Sokka was starting to get a little stir crazy. 

The morning before the Northerners were supposed to arrive, a knock on the door woke Zuko at the usual time their breakfast tray was dropped off. Zuko was out of bed, swords in hand, and on edge. In all the days he’d been there, their breakfast had been simply dropped off at the door. 

Sokka was already heading out of his room and he waved a hand at Zuko sleepily. 

“Put those things away,” he said as he headed for the door. “It’s probably just Katara or Aang wanting to join us - ” he peeked through the peephole on the door and let out a little excited “ - oh!”

Without further ado, Sokka was yanking open his doors unceremoniously, giving Zuko a mini heart-attack, as he was still clueless to who was on the other side.

“Dad! Bato!” Sokka cried and was immediately enveloped in a hug by his father and step-father. Zuko had only met the two of them once, years ago at Aang and Katara’s wedding, but he’d talked a great deal with both of them at the reception and they’d all gotten on rather well. 

“Ah! Prince Zuko, so good to see you again,” Hakoda said, skipping the traditional greeting and pulling Zuko in for a hug as well. “I’m sure you remember my husband, Bato.” 

And the way he said _husband,_ so proud, so excited like he’d never get over being able to use that word. Zuko assumed that was most likely the case, seeing as their marriage must’ve only been recognized in the eyes of the Tribe for a short time. 

Bato clapped him on the shoulder for good measure and a cart with breakfast was pulled into the room. 

“Now, I’m going to put aside the fact that my son deigned to tell me about his political rival’s ongoing plan to assassinate him - ” Hakoda gave Sokka a pointed look. In his defense, Sokka looked like he felt fairly guilty about it. “ - so that we can all enjoy breakfast. But we will be talking about this later.”

“Yes, Dad,” Sokka muttered and it made Zuko want to laugh. No matter how old they got or what positions of power they held, it was funny the effect their parental figures could still have on them. 

Hakoda and Bato - who’d arrived back home late the night before - entertained Zuko and Sokka over breakfast with tales from their year traveling the world together. Their “extended, official honeymoon” they’d called it. After they’d finished, Zuko had to leave for another meeting with Shila and the palace guards. Zuko felt comfortable leaving Sokka under the watchful eye of his dads, even if Sokka did shoot him overdramatic “help me” eyes as he left, knowing he was in for a lecture from Hakoda. 

His meeting with Shila was over mid-afternoon and afterward, Zuko went off to search for Sokka. Sokka was looking for him, too, as it seemed. He caught Zuko by the arm in the hallway, pulling him by the bicep to follow him.

“You wanna tell me where we’re going?” Zuko said, planting his feet and stopping Sokka in his tracks.

“I need you to do something for me,” Sokka said.

“Anything,” Zuko replied, embarrassingly quickly.

“Come spar with me,” Sokka stated. 

Zuko sputtered. “What? Sokka. No. I’m trying to keep you in one piece, not hurt you myself.”

Sokka groaned in frustration. 

“Please? No one will spar with me. I mean really _try_. Suki will do hand to hand, but she has an unfair advantage there. And I have an unfair advantage with my sword. I’m getting rusty. If I’m going to defend myself, I’ll need practice.”

Sokka was right, he supposed. And Zuko needed to stay on his game, too. Besides, Sokka wasn’t the only one going a little stir crazy.

“Fine.”

Sokka all but squealed in excitement, dragging Zuko along with him to his gym.

Zuko tried not to stare too hard as Sokka stripped down to his undershirt once they were inside. While it was long-sleeved and a dark navy, it was so tight it left very little to the imagination. 

Sokka had become every ounce the Chief and warrior he claimed to be, and it was so obvious not only in his build - his shoulders wide and all of hi lanky limbs now roped with muscle - but more so in the very way, he held himself and his sword, which he’d grabbed from a collection hanging on the wall.

“Don’t go easy on me,” Sokka goaded.

“Wasn’t planning on it.” 

Sokka _was_ rusty, but it didn’t take away from the fact that he was good. He’d trained under Zuko’s own master, Piandao, the summer he and the gang had followed Aang to the Fire Nation when Aang had come to train under Zuko’s family in firebending in order to complete his Avatar training. 

Sokka had disappeared for a few weeks and come back with his spine a little straighter and a new sword on his back. Zuko had taken one look at that sword and knew where he’d been. After Sokka’s return, they took to sparring often, and even though they favored different blades, they found themselves fairly equally matched. 

He hadn’t had as good of a sparring partner since, so Zuko told himself he was doing this more for himself and to keep his own skills up to date as he was for Sokka.

They lunged and parried each other, flowing like a dance. Zuko definitely got the better of Sokka the first few rounds in all but a few moves, but the more they sparred, the more Sokka warmed up, his skill coming back to him quickly. Eventually, each round went for longer and longer, and every so often, Sokka got the better of Zuko, giving an excited “whoop!” as he either had him at swordpoint or knocked him to the ground. Zuko couldn’t even be bitter about his defeats, he hadn’t seen Sokka enjoy himself this much since he’d gotten there. 

He tried to ignore, as they fought, how they just seemed to...fit. They weren’t opposites, but their fighting styles complemented each other. It felt like they were flowing together like they were dancing instead of fighting. 

Sokka was starting to fight dirty, so Zuko decided to do the same. Their final round, Sokka almost had him but Zuko ducked just in time and instead crouched and swung his foot - a move he typically used while firebending - in order to knock Sokka on his back. While Sokka caught his breath, the wind knocked out of him, Zuko moved quickly using his knees and thighs to pin Sokka’s body to the ground. He held his blades in a cross as Sokka’s throat, far enough away so that he would’ve actually hurt him, but close enough to drive the point home.

“Gotcha,” Zuko grinned.

It took a minute for Sokka to process what had just happened but once he did, the air between them shifted. Zuko became all too aware of the fact that he was on top of Sokka. The other man was breathing heavily below him, chest heaving, face flushed, and lips parted. His hair was splayed across the mat below them, and his body had gone boneless in defeat.

Zuko couldn’t break his gaze. 

He pulled his blades slowly, carefully from the vicinity of Sokka’s jugular, and dropped them both at his sides with a soft _thud_. He felt trapped, caught in the magnetic, gravitational pull that was Sokka. He should have stopped it, but he couldn’t. 

What he fuck was he doing? His rational brain was screaming his mantra of “ _You are here to protect him. You are here for a job, as a favor. Do not let your feelings get in the way”_ but the rest of his brain and _all_ of his body were saying “ _to hell with the mantra.”_

Feeling absolutely out of control, he felt himself start to lean down and he swore Sokka was rising to meet him and -

“Hey Sokka, Suki told me I might find you here - oh,” Zuko sprang off of Sokka like he’d been burned at the sound of Hakoda’s voice behind them. 

Sokka swung up into a sitting position, clearing his throat and tugging at his sleeves.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Hakoda said but his gaze was all _too_ knowing. “I was just looking for Sokka, there are still a few things we need to discuss.” 

“Yeah, uh, um, I’m just gonna go - ” cool off “- change and freshen up before dinner. Think you’ll survive an hour or two without me hovering over you?”

Zuko winced a little at his choice of words. 

“I’ll be fine,” Sokka waved him off. “See you later.”

Zuko grabbed his blades off the floor, sheathing them behind his back as he all but scurried from the room. The smug look Hakoda shot him on his way out was _not_ helpful.

Zuko all but ran back to his room, closing the door behind him and taking a deep breath. 

Oh, _Agni_ , he was really in it now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @bleekay on tumblr makes the most gorgeous art (in general and) of [zuko styled in SWT fashion](https://bleekay.tumblr.com/post/631281186347548672/back-after-popular-demand-part-two-of-swt-styled) so I used their art as a huge inspo in writing zuko's outfit. it's obviously not as fancy as the one in this art...we'll save that for the feast ;)
> 
> and yes that last line is based off of [this meme](https://i.imgflip.com/3dbtdk.jpg) of jason mendoza from the good place


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi all! HUGE warning for this chapter in regard to drugging/spiked drinks. please please read the end notes if you think this could possibly make you uncomfy or trigger you. nothing bad happens to the person who is drugged, but this can be a very touchy subject for anyone who's experienced it, so please tread carefully. 💖

The arrival of the Northern Water Tribe dignitaries and ambassadors came with a huge, ostentatious ship and lots of fanfare. 

The palace staff had spent the entire morning in a tizzy, making sure everything was perfect. The fact that there would be more people than normal living in the palace for a little over a week was a security nightmare for Zuko, but Sokka had assured him only the Chief’s family and a select few of the higher-ups were staying in the palace. The rest of the Northerners were given other accommodations in the city. 

The Northern vessel was spotted off the coast late morning and so Sokka, his family, and a few of the more important Southern Council Members waited on the docks as the ship pulled into the harbor. A crowd of Tribespeople had gathered as well. Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors stood back, keeping an eye on the scene. This was supposed to be a peaceful, happy occasion, but any instance of Sokka being in a large crowd had them all leery. 

Then, the most astonishing woman Zuko had ever seen descended the ramp. She had the dark skin, blue eyes, and bone structure of the people of her Tribe, but her hair was white as the moon. She was beautiful, ethereal even, and she all but floated as she walked, moving with a grace Zuko had never quite seen before. Half of her silver-white hair was arranged in a coronet around her head secured by a hairpiece with a delicately carved water-tribe symbol. The rest of her hair fell in loose waves down her back, save for two braids that framed her face. She was quite obviously royalty. Zuko assumed either the daughter of the Chief or perhaps his wife.

As soon as she was on the docks and within a few feet of the welcoming party, Sokka was launching himself at her.

“Yue!” Sokka exclaimed, pulling the woman into a hug. Zuko tensed, unsure of the Northerners’ reactions, but everyone around them - including Sokka’s people - only seemed to watch with fond amusement.

The woman - Yue - _giggled_ , hugging Sokka back with an easy and familiar affection. “Sokka. It’s so good to see you.” 

Sokka took her gloved hand in his and turned to face the crowd. 

“It is my _greatest_ honor to welcome Chief Yue from the Northern Water Tribe and her entourage to the South for the duration of the festival. Tui and La have blessed our Tribes with peace and prosperity in the last few decades and our friendship with our Northern brothers and sisters has played a big role in that. So, here’s to our continued alliance and the Glacier Spirits Festival!”

The crowd gave a small cheer and round of applause, and Yue turned to greet Sokka’s family. Hakoda and Bato pulled her into paternal hugs, Aang bowed to her respectfully - which made Yue laugh, and Katara gave her as big of a hug as Sokka had. 

Oh. So.

 _Yue_ was the Chief. 

Not the Chief’s daughter, or wife but _the_ Chief. 

That was a lesson for Zuko on what happened when one assumed things.

As Yue greeted Sokka’s family and other Southern dignitaries, Sokka greeted the rest of the Northern procession in a far more professional manner. Once all the pomp and circumstance was through, the party made their way to where a line of carriages awaited to take them either to the palace or to the high-end lodge that had been reserved specifically for the Northerners. 

Being Sokka’s bodyguard meant that he was squished into the wall of the first carriage with Sokka, Yue, Aang, Katara, and Suki. 

The others chattered excitedly, catching up - even _Suki_ seemed to know Yue - and So Zuko settled in quietly, reminding himself of his place and purpose here.

* * *

Once inside the palace, Zuko and Suki split from the others. They had work to do in unison with Shila to prepare for the coming feast. Aang and Katara assured them both they’d stay with Sokka until either Zuko or Suki were done with all their duties or the feast began. 

Zuko didn’t see Sokka again until he returned to their rooms later that evening to dress for the night’s festivities. 

Zuko’s outfit for the night was definitely more intricate than his clothing for daily use. Sokka had hung it in his rooms that morning before they’d set out for the harbor, but Zuko didn’t have a chance to admire it until now. It was similar enough to his other garments, but it was trimmed with a silky white fur that was so soft Zuko couldn’t stop touching it. There were leather accents at the wrist and shoulders as well as a leather sash. Supple fingerless gloves in the same material tied the look together. Ty Lee has insisted on french braiding the top half of his hair and he was honestly glad he’d given in and let her. Upon looking at himself in the mirror, Zuko had to admit that he looked rather dignified. It had been some time since he’d had an excuse to dress so elegantly. 

He moved back out to the common area where Sokka was seated on one of the couches, Katara behind him, weaving parts of his hair into multiple tiny braids adorned with blue beads. Save for two small braids that hung by his face, Katara finished by pulling the rest of his hair into his usual wolftail. Tonight, Sokka wore his Water Tribe headpiece secured at the base of his ponytail. Zuko had never actually seen him wear it before.

Katara must’ve pulled at his hair a little too tight because Sokka flinched away with a grimace.

“Katara, ow,” Sokka hissed, batting her hand away. “That’s enough. Thank you for doing my hair, now please try to not rip it from my scalp. Shoo. Go finish getting ready yourself.”

“You’re welcome, jerk,” Katara muttered tugging at Sokka’s wolftail once more. The gesture was fond. It was nice to see that not much had changed between them. “See you down there.”

She gave Zuko a friendly nod before heading out. 

Sokka stood from the couch and if Zuko thought _he_ looked dignified, Sokka looked downright regal, every ounce the Chief he was. 

Sokka’s robes were a similar cut and style to his typical Official Business ones. However, this set was a deep blue and - while still thick for warmth - expensive silk. Small, intricate wave designs adorned the tunic and the insides of his cloak. The color against Sokka’s dark skin was gorgeous. Sokka was gorgeous.

“It’s a lot, huh?” Sokka said sheepishly, always one to self-deprecate.

Zuko shook his head. “It’s perfect.”

Sokka seemed to preen a little under the praise.

“Anyway...we have some time before the feast. Want to share some tea with me?” 

Zuko hadn’t even noticed the tea tray, but who was he to deny Sokka anything at this point?

They sat and Sokka immediately started telling Zuko about the rest of his day after they’d split.

“And of course it was good to see Yue again. The Northerners don’t come down for the festival every year and I haven’t seen her since before she was first voted Chief two years ago.”

“Is that what you meant when you promised me the North and South were on good terms?” Zuko asked and it came out far more suggestively than he’d meant. 

Thank the Spirits, Sokka just laughed. 

“Well seeing as our Dads were also respective Chiefs at the same time, we saw quite a bit of each other here and there growing up,” Sokka explained. “And then, as you know, that winter I turned fifteen, Katara and I found Aang in the iceberg while we were out visiting Gran Gran in her old village.”

Of course, Zuko knew. He remembered the day he heard the news himself. It had blazed across the world and while the Four Nations had all been mostly peaceful by that point, Aang’s return had been an extra beacon of hope in a realm that was looking brighter and brighter every day. That was thirteen years ago and Aang had continued to instill hope in their world every day.

“How could I forget,” Zuko agreed. 

“So, Aang trained alongside Katara down here in the capital for a few months. There’s this secret group of like, all-powerful old dudes who’d planned - just in case - for the Avatar’s return and they helped Aang find bending masters for each element,” Sokka continued.

Zuko knew that too, seeing as his uncle was a part of it.

“The Order of the White Lotus,” Zuko nodded. When Sokka gave Zuko a surprised look, he shrugged. “Iroh,” he said in way of explanation. 

“Anyway, from here they encouraged Aang to also go to learn from the Northern masters. So Katara and I went with him,” Sokka said. “That’s where I met Yue again. We kinda dated for a while there before we had to leave again so that Aang could continue his training in the Earth Kingdom.” 

Zuko raised his brow at that, though he wasn’t truly surprised at that bit of information. He knew the rest of Sokka’s story from there. They’d gone from the North Pole to Gaoling where Aang was supposed to train with Master Yu. Somewhere along the line though - something about a dinner gone wrong and accusations of kidnapping - tiny, blind, twelve-year-old prodigy Toph Beifong had become Aang’s teacher instead. After an extensive time in the Earth Kingdom, the four of them had come to Zuko’s home in the Fire Nation for Aang to train under Iroh, Lu Ten, and the rest of Zuko’s family. 

“Are you this friendly with all your exes?” Zuko questioned, meaning it. 

Sokka just laughed again, changing the subject by asking Zuko about his day instead, and sooner than they’d both expected it was time to leave for the feast. 

* * *

Knowing that Sokka and Yue had a history and seeing it in action were two completely separate things. 

Not that Zuko was paying attention or anything.

He had a job to do, after all. 

Sokka had, surprisingly, seated Zuko on one side of him at the head table, Yue on the other. He’d introduced Zuko not as his bodyguard - for obvious reasons - but as the Fire Prince and one of his “esteemed guests” alongside Aang, Yue, and the rest of the Northerns. Sokka then gave another rousing speech about peace and unity, encouraging their continued allyship with the North.

“And last but not least,” Sokka finished, I want to thank you for choosing me as your leader. This Tribe means the world to me, and so long as you’ll have me I will always be honored to be your Chief. Now, let’s eat!”

The room had exploded into applause and cheers and food and drink had been quickly served. Zuko hardly touched his food - and certainly hadn’t touched his wine - too on edge and observant to even be thinking about food. He’d circled back to the warehouse a few more times in the nights leading up to the feast, but it seemed luck had only been with him the once. Not that it mattered much, at least they knew some sort of kidnapping attempt was being planned for that night, but Zuko still wished he had more details. 

Only Suki and Ty Lee were in uniform tonight. The rest of the Kyoshi girls were posed as guests, claiming the Chief had given them the night off. All four of them had strategically been dispersed among the long table of the Southern Councilors, as had Shila. Other guards, also posing as attending the feast for fun, were dispersed among the room. 

Of course, uniformed guards were stationed around the room, but from an outsider’s - and hopefully, Kaskae’s team’s - perspective, security was fairly minimal. Sokka had assured him this was fairly normal for such feasts. Even if they were running under the ruse of thinking a rogue from the North was the attempter, the presence of two Kyoshi Warriors behind the Chief was more than enough.

Zuko kept a careful eye on the crowd at the start of the feast, but he knew Kaskae would more than likely wait to strike until later in the evening. He’d wait until the food was gone and people were up milling about, drinking and dancing. He would wait until people were approaching Sokka left and right before he’d send Amaruq to get Sokka alone. 

Zuko knew he had time. Zuko also knew his job for the night was not so much to keep tabs on the entire room, but to keep tabs on Sokka. To watch his every move.

Which meant Zuko had to sit back and be completely and totally aware of Sokka and Yue acting like two absolute idiots together - talking and giggling and flirting like teenagers. He idly wondered what he’d done to the Spirits in a past life to deserve this kind of torment. 

Eventually, the food was cleared away and the feast devolved into drinking and dancing. Sokka and Yue led the first dance and exes or not, Zuko had to admit to himself that they looked good together. He didn’t have the time or the luxury of sitting back and pouting the way he wanted to about that. Unfortunately, his job for the night entailed him keeping very close tabs on every single one of Sokka’s moves, even if those moves were dancing with a beautiful woman. Sokka and Yue’s dance ended with a polite round of applause from the guests and the dance floor started to fill up from there. Aang and Katara circled the floor as well, and while they looked like they were simply enjoying the festivities, Zuko also noticed how they never strayed too far from Sokka.

Hakoda and Bato seemed to be making a point to keep Sokka in their line of vision at all times as well. Sokka had tried his hardest to keep his dads out of it, claiming they'd come back home to relax, but it seemed even they couldn't help themselves in adding to the list of people trying to keep Sokka safe that night. 

As the room began to fill with twirling and swaying couples and others began to mill about, it became harder and harder for Zuko to keep a good eye on Sokka from the head table, so he decided to get up to have a better vantage point. 

Zuko watched from the sidelines as people started to cut into Sokka’s dances, asking the Chief for a dance themselves. Each new person that he didn’t recognize put Zuko a little more on edge. He couldn’t wait for this night to be over. He already felt the stress of it all giving him premature greys. 

Zuko caught sight of Amaruq now and again, and his eyes were always on Sokka. Amaruq, wisely, hadn’t interacted with Kaskae once all night. Zuko had barely seen the former Chief himself, but tailing him wasn’t Zuko’s job. 

It wasn’t until the night picked up, and most of the guests were drunk, that Zuko noticed Amaruq finally making his move to try to get Sokka alone. Sokka had been dancing with an older Councilwoman for some time when Amaruq cut in. To anyone else, Sokka seemed to remain open and friendly to his old friend, but Zuko knew him well enough to see the tension in his shoulders. Regardless of how dire the situation was, Sokka was still coming off the fresh sting of an old and trusted friend’s betrayal. 

Before Zuko could run interference, Suki was already there, whispering something in Sokka’s ear before apologizing to Amaruq and leading Sokka away. It seemed they were headed back towards the main table, so Zuko followed suit. 

“ - think he bought it,” Suki finished saying to Sokka as Zuko approached. “But I have a feeling he’ll try again. There’s only so many times one of us can pull you away before he starts to get suspicious or suspect we’re onto him.”

“I still think one of you should let him get me alone and then, bam! Pounce and we’ll take him in for questioning,” Sokka said.

“Yeah, still not happening under any circumstances,” Zuko ensured him and Suki made a noise of agreement. “And if you get any ideas about seeking out Amaruq yourself I will physically carry you upstairs myself and lock you in your room.” 

Sokka said something under his breath that Zuko didn’t quite catch and didn’t ask clarification for. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Sokka was muttering to himself about Zuko at that moment. Sokka briefly distracted himself by grabbing Zuko’s untouched wineglass off the table.

“You gonna drink this?” he asked Zuko.

“I’m working,” Zuko replied shortly like it was obvious. 

“So I’m guessing that’s a no. That’s good though, cause I could really use a drink right now,” Sokka replied as he downed half of the wine in one go. Zuko took the rest of the glass from Sokka, placing it on the table.

“You need to be careful tonight,” he hissed.

“You’re in a foul mood,” Sokka deduced.

“I’m trying to keep you from being _kidnapped_ and possibly murdered. Please excuse me if I’m a little agitated,” Zuko countered. 

Sokka deflated a little. 

“Ugh. I’m sorry. It’s just all starting to get to me, you know?” Sokka sighed, leaning back against the table. “This feast - the whole night - was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to be able to celebrate my Tribe and have a good time. But now I feel like I’m constantly having to look over my shoulder. And then Amaruq just _sauntered_ up to me and started talking to me like he isn’t an absolute backstabber and - ”

Sokka took a deep grounding breath. “It’s all just…a lot.”

Zuko put a comforting hand on Sokka’s shoulder and was about to attempt to give him some words of comfort when they were approached by Yue again. 

“Mind if I steal you for another dance?” She asked Sokka. “I’m getting really sick of talking politics with everyone else.”

“Only if you don’t mind me stepping on your toes again the whole time.”

Yue only laughed, and to his credit, Sokka waited for the slight head nod from Zuko before following Yue back into the crowd. 

As Zuko watched Sokka and Yue spin around the dance floor this time, something was different. The more they danced, the more Sokka’s movements became uncoordinated. His eyes had become almost glossy and a goofy yet serene look had appeared over his face. If Zuko didn’t know any better, he’d think Sokka was drunk. But he did know better and he knew - because he’d been watching Sokka like a hawk - that all the Chief had to drink that night was a glass of wine with dinner and then half of Zuko’s glass. Sokka was not a small man and by no means a lightweight. It didn’t add up. Many of the guests were already either drunk as well or halfway there, so Sokka’s behavior didn’t stick out from the crowd. Still, his behavior wasn’t consistent with a full-grown man who’d had a cup and a half of wine.

Unless…

Zuko immediately picked his half-empty wine glass off the table, taking a whiff. He recoiled at the scent, it was far more bitter than any wine had the right to be. 

“ _Shit_ ,” he muttered.

He motioned for Suki immediately. He didn’t even give an explanation other than saying “smell this” and shoving the glass under her nose.

She wrinkled her nose delicately, flinching back from the glass.

“Kravahroot,” she said. “They’re trying to drug him.”

Zuko shook his head. “They tried to drug _me_. It was my wine but Sokka’s the one who drank it. This must have been their plan to incapacitate me.”

Suki followed his gaze to where Sokka was still on the dance floor with Yue. It was starting to hit him hard. Knowing the root and its effects, Zuko estimated he had about half of an hour before Sokka was either puking his brains out or asleep, so they had to act fast.

“Get Aang and Katara,” Sokka told Suki, “and meet us out in the main hall.” 

Suki nodded and was off, while Zuko made a beeline for Sokka.

“Speak of the devil,” Sokka all but garbled as he caught sight of Zuko.

“ _Someone’s_ had a bit too much to drink,” Yue teased, amiably, but Zuko shook his head.

“Someone spiked his drink with Kravahroot,” Zuko explained.

Yue’s sweet face immediately melted into surprised concern. 

“We need to get him out of here,” he continued. 

Spirits bless Yue, she didn’t ask any questions or demand any answers before helping to usher Sokka out of the great hall alongside Zuko as casually as possible. Sokka didn’t even argue, just followed along happily, Zuko’s guiding hand between his shoulder blades and Yue’s around his waist.

Suki met them out in the main hall flanked by not only Aang and Katara but Niko and Sora as well. 

“Oh look!” Sokka slurred happily. “Everyone’s here!”

Suki rolled her eyes fondly, breathing a sigh of relief. “You get him to bed, Niko and Sora will follow and stand guard at Sokka’s doors until we’ve ensured everyone is out of the palace post-feast, along with his regular guard. The rest of the palace guard will continue to monitor Kaskae and his minions. I’m meeting Ty Lee in the kitchens where we’ll question the staff. Katara, Aang, and Yue, you three continue to run the rest of the night’s activities as smoothly as possible. If anyone asks, the Chief had ‘urgent festival business’ to attend to. We’ll reconvene in the morning,” she eyed Sokka’s swaying form. “As soon as Sokka’s feeling up to it, that is.”

“That was a lot of words at once,” Sokka said to Suki’s retreating back. “Oh. Everything is getting spin-y.”

And that was his cue. Zuko slung Sokka’s arm over his shoulder and said his goodbyes to the others.

“Thank you,” he whispered to Yue.

“Of course,” she responded easily.

“Alright, big guy, let’s get you to bed,” Zuko said.

“As long as you’re the one taking me,” Sokka mumbled suggestively.

Zuko heard Aang snort as Katara dissolved into barely restrained giggles behind him. He was glad they were seeing the humor in all of this. 

They thankfully made it up to Sokka's rooms unbothered. Niko and Sora did a sweep of the entirety of Sokka’s chambers, ensuring it was secure, before bidding them goodnight and going to stand guard at the doors. 

Zuko led Sokka - who was getting harder and harder to support - to his rooms guiding him down onto his huge, ornately carved bed. Sokka pretty much crashed face first, groaning.

“Okay. Sleep now.”

“Yeah, not quite, buddy,” Zuko said, manhandling him to his back. “We need to get you out of this outfit otherwise you’re gonna sweat yourself to death in your sleep.”

“Ooh, you trying to get me naked, Fire Prince?” Sokka ribbed cheekily and Zuko really did _not_ need Sokka’s drunk, flirty antics right now. 

Still, Sokka cooperated enough as Zuko undressed him, careful and perfunctory. He draped the cloak and then Sokka’s tunic over the ottoman at the foot of Sokka’s bed. He pulled each boot off next, then helped Sokka shimmy out of his pants, which he added to the rest of the clothes pile. Now just in his underclothes, and proud of his hard work, Sokka flopped back onto the bed. 

“‘Kay. Done.”

“Not a chance,” Zuko said, wrestling Sokka so that he was on his side, pulling the covers up over him. The last thing he needed, after all of his hard work keeping Sokka safe, was for Sokka to throw up in the middle of the night and choke on his own vomit. 

He searched the room for a wastebasket - finding one near Sokka’s desk - and placed it on the side of the bed within easy reach of Sokka, just in case. 

“Alright, that should do it,” Zuko sighed to a half-asleep Sokka. “I’m leaving your door open so that if you start choking in the middle of the night I can hear it. No discussion.”

Zuko turned to go, but Sokka grabbed his hand before he could move.

“Or you could just stay,” Sokka offered quietly. 

“Sokka…you know I can’t,” Zuko replied. For a multitude of reasons. They both knew it.

“I know. But I still want you to,” Sokka gave Zuko’s hand a weak squeeze before his grip grew lax.

As Zuko watched Sokka fade into sleep, he had to fight the urge to curl up on the ottoman that spanned the foot of Sokka’s bed like the guard dog Amaruq so claimed him to be. Before he gave into that impulse, he left Sokka’s room. He was still so worked up from the near-miss and the evening in general, he knew sleep was going to evade him. So he grabbed his pillow and a blanket from his room and made camp on Sokka’s too-soft couch once again.

* * *

“Was someone going to tell me there is an active assassination attempt going on against Sokka right now or was I just supposed to learn that myself when got drugged last night?” Yue deadpanned the next morning at breakfast.

They’d convened in Sokka’s rooms instead of their usual conference room, spread around Sokka’s coffee table.

“I’ll explain it later,” Sokka waved her off from his spot propped up against the couch where he leaned against Zuko’s shins, holding his head. “Too hungover from whatever that root was from last night. Katara can’t you do anything waterbender-y with your healing to make this go away?”

Katara rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “It doesn’t work like that.”

Sokka only groaned.

“So, no one in the kitchens had any idea what we were talking about,” Ty Lee started. “One of them must’ve snuck past the table and slipped the Kravahroot into your drink while none of us were paying attention.”

“From an outsider’s perspective, they were on their best behavior all night,” Suki added. “We couldn’t even take any of them in for questioning. We had no concrete evidence of any foul play.” 

“I told you the feast was a bad idea. We need to cancel the festival, or at the very least Sokka should skip it this year” Zuko demanded, arms crossed.

“Absolutely not,” Sokka countered. “First of all the Northern Tribe came all this way. Second, if we cancel or I don’t show to at least the opening night, we have to give the people a reason why. I still don’t think it’s a good idea to publicize this and let Kaskae know we’re onto him.”

“For all we know, he’s _already_ aware that we’re onto them,” Zuko argued. 

“The festival continues,” Sokka stated, jaw set. “We’ll just up my security detail - ”

“Yeah because that worked so well last night,” Zuko scoffed. 

“Well I’m still alive and have yet to be assassinated, so it seems like it worked quite okay to me!” Sokka said, voice rising.

“You were _drugged_ ,” Zuko shot back, incredulous at Sokka’s attitude. He stood from his spot on the couch so that he could better face Sokka. “And you were easily influenced. You followed whatever I did and said without question. What if it had been Amaruq leading you off and away? That could’ve gone badly.”

“Regardless of how _easy_ I was last night, I was still coherent,” Sokka disputed. “Did you maybe stop to think that I followed whatever you did and said because it was _you_? I’m not so gullible that I’d follow any old schmuck around just because I’m a little drunk.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Well you implied it. I’m fine. There was an unexpected hiccup last night but otherwise, everything went well and we caught it in time so that it didn’t become a big deal,” Sokka argued. “Why do you have such a stick up your ass about it?”

“ _Because_ , Sokka, I cannot stand by and watch you get hurt, or _worse_ , killed,” Zuko finally shouted, the raw emotion in his voice expressing what Zuko couldn’t verbalize. _I care about you too much._

The silence that fell over the room was deafening. They’d all understood the hidden meaning of Zuko’s words. 

“Zuko…” Sokka replied, and it was the softness in his tone that was the breaking point for Zuko.

“I need some air,” Zuko muttered, turning to stalk out of the room. He only made it a few feet down the hallway before he collapsed back against the wall and groaned into his hands. 

So much for not letting his feelings get in the way. He’d been compromised since the minute he’d stepped foot in that damn throne room. 

He heard the door to Sokka’s chamber opening and closing gently as soft footsteps padded down the hallway. A soothing hand rested on Zuko’s shoulder and he opened his eyes to find Katara’s gentle gaze. 

“I was kind of an ass back there, huh?” Zuko sighed. He hated his temper sometimes.

“Little bit, but it wasn’t unwarranted,” Katara admitted, not unkindly. “Listen. I get it. We’re all keyed up here. I’m not gonna push it, but I can see the way you look at him.”

Zuko was going to protest, deny, _anything_ , but Katara held a hand up before he could.

“I said I wasn’t going to push. What I will say is that as much as you want to shut Sokka in his room and shoot fire at anyone who comes within ten feet of him until this is all over, you can’t. He’s the Chief. He has responsibilities to the South and to his people. He can’t put his life on hold, so the rest of us have to learn to work with him while keeping him safe.” 

“I know,” Zuko conceded. “I just feel like he isn’t taking this, his own safety, as seriously as he should be.”

“I think he is,” Katara disagreed. “But Sokka’s always put on a brave face for everyone around him and he deflects like hell when he’s scared. I know he’s terrified and I think last night made it all the more real. But he’s Sokka. He’s going to grin and bear it and continue to do what he thinks he needs to do, regardless of the risk.”

“I wish he wasn’t such a goddamn self-sacrificing asshole sometimes,” Zuko muttered.

Katara laughed. “Me too, my friend. Listen. Sokka has some of the most powerful people in the world, including himself, looking out for him. We’ll figure this out, put a stop to it, and then we can all take a big, deep breath. _Then_ you can finally tell him how you feel and maybe you’ll stop looking so constipated every time you’re around him.”

Zuko sputtered but Katara just smirked smugly.

Zuko’s reply - that he _swears_ was going to be very witty - was interrupted by a quick set of footsteps approaching them down the hall.

“Oh good, there you two are,” Shila said breathlessly as she drew near. “Where’s the Chief?”

“Finishing breakfast,” Katara replied. “What is it?”

“I need all of you to come with me immediately. One of Kaskae’s men just turned himself in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: sokka unknowingly drinks a drink spiked with "Kravahroot" which is meant to have a roofie-like effect. sokka becomes inebriated but is taken to his room by his friends. nothing bad happens (other than a gnarly hangover) and sokka is otherwise unharmed. told from an outsider's (zuko's) perspective. 💖  
> _
> 
> on a happier note! yue!! she's one of my favorite minor characters so I wanted to bring her into the fold.  
> anyway you know the drill! the next chapter might take a bit longer, just so you're all aware.  
> hope you guys are enjoying this story, I'm definitely enjoying writing it!


	4. Chapter 4

“How do we know he’s not setting us up?” Zuko asked. 

They were inside what looked like a makeshift interrogation room in the guards’ quarters as they waited for Shila to bring in. It was just him and Sokka. They’d all agreed the whole lot of them questioning one person would be both chaotic and unfair. Zuko only wished Toph were here. She’d know for sure if he was lying. 

“We don’t,” Sokka said, grimly. “So we take whatever he says with a grain of salt.”

The door opened and Shila entered the room first, flanked by two guards on either side of their suspect. It was the older, weathered man that Zuko had seen with Amaruq that day in the halls of the palace. Even then, and at the meeting, Zuko had spied on, he’d seemed surprisingly mild.

He was placed in the seat across the table from Zuko and Sokka. Shila took a seat on Sokka’s other side.

“My Chief,” the man said, bowing his head respectfully.

“Hanta,” Sokka acknowledged. 

“I’ll start this by saying if there is any funny business, if the thought of even touching the Chief crosses your mind, I will put you down on the spot, understand?” Zuko all but growled at the man. He felt Sokka’s hand rest gently on his thigh under the table. He squeezed Zuko’s muscle and it felt more like it was more to soothe instead of a warning. 

“Understood,” Hanta responded.

“Why don’t you start by explaining to us how you got involved in all of this,” Shila began, calmly. 

Hanta seemed to take a deep, steadying breath before beginning.

“I served as a Councilor under Kaskae, and under your father before. I’ve known Kaskae well for decades. I thought he would be a good successor to Chief Hakoda, we all did. And we were all wrong. The four years of his Chiefdom were a constant power struggle between the council and Kaskae. If given the chance, if you wouldn’t have won the next election, I’m almost certain he would’ve dissolved our democracy.” 

A silence fell over the room at the implications of that. So this was more about saving Sokka’s life. This was about preserving the South’s freedom and stability as well. Sokka exchanged a look with him that let him know he was thinking the _exact_ same thing.

“Here’s the thing,” Hanta continued. “Amaruq and I were only in on this because of threats from Kaskae. He has...specific personal information on each of us that could ruin our political careers and potentially our lives if it were to come to light. Things we told him in false confidence. The other two - Kallik and Liuna - are in it because they believe in Kasake and are truly loyal to him.”

“So the dirt that he has on you two is somehow bad enough that you were willing to kill Chief Sokka over it?” Zuko questioned.

“Not kill,” Hanta refuted, a slight edge of desperation in his tone.

“This all started because of a literal assassination attempt on the Chief,” Shila deadpanned.

“I wasn’t part of the initial assassination attempt,” Hanta promised. “I was actually under the impression that it was to be a kidnapping.”

“Yeah, cause kidnapping is _so_ much better,” Zuko muttered, more to himself than to Hanta. Sokka’s hand was back at his thigh. This time it was a warning.

“None of us thought it would go this far,” Hanta shook his head. “We thought we were plotting _politically_. Trying to think of ways to get him back on the throne. I don’t think any of us were expecting Kaskae to outright want to murder you. He’d been power-hungry, sure, but I never pegged him as a killer.”

“Anyone who is truly power-hungry will do whatever it takes to get rid of those in their way,” Sokka said, sagely. “And Kaskae wouldn’t become a killer. He was going to make the four of you do his dirty work. Then he would’ve found a way to throw you all under the bus.”

“Not all of us,” Hanta disagreed. “He would’ve rewarded Kallik and Liuna for their true loyalty. They were going to double-cross us and pin the blame on Amaruq and me. He considered blaming it on the Northerners but he didn’t want to start a civil war between the tribes. He knows he’d need the North’s alliance to be a strong Chief.”

Ah. So that’s why he’d finally come forward. Zuko said as much. 

“Yes and no,” Hanta said. “I’ve been halfway out the door since the beginning. This just...solidified it. I did my best to divert their plans at the feast though it seemed you all had everything under control. Well, mostly.”

He grimaced, guiltily looking between Sokka and Zuko. “Liuna was the one you slipped the Kravahroot into your drink. It was obviously meant for you, Prince Zuko. Sorry for what I’m assuming is a rather nasty hangover, Chief Sokka.”

Sokka waved him off. 

“Do you have any information about future plans that we can use?” Shila asked. 

“They’re going to try again,” Hanta stated. “At the festival, obviously. Kaskae is incredibly secretive about his plans, he won’t tell us much until it’s actually go time. But he’s getting desperate which makes him sloppy.”

“It also makes him more dangerous,” Zuko added.

Hanta nodded. “They aren’t going to try to kill you in the middle of a festival, but they’ll try again to kidnap you and take you to a secondary location.”

“Do you know where?” Shila questioned. 

Hanta shook his head, despondent. “Like I said. He doesn’t tell us much.”

“So for now our goal will be to get the others into custody and end this before they have the chance to try again,” Shila said. “With your confession, we have enough reason to arrest them all.”

“Kaskae will be the hardest to catch. He hasn’t been staying in his normal residence. He’s been too paranoid,” Hanta said. 

Shila nodded. “The other three will be a good start then. Kaskae will be powerless without his minions but I have a feeling he’ll still try to strike. As soon as they’re arrested we’ll have guards and soldiers combing every possible exit from the city for him. We will not let him escape. Then we’ll put him on trial and make sure he gets locked up in our most secure prison.”

“Will you testify?” Sokka asked Hanta. “When we catch them and this is all over, will you testify against all of them?”

“Of course,” Hanta replied easily. “I’m sorry things had to go this way. But I’ll do whatever I can to help stop it from here on out.”

“Thank you,” Sokka said. “You will still have to face charges for your part in all of this. But I’ll ensure they’re minimal in thanks for your cooperation.” 

“Thank you, Chief,” Hanta replied, voice a little shocked, but grateful. 

Sokka stood from the table and leveled Hanta with a look that made Zuko shiver a bit. 

“Do not cross me again.”

“Yes, Chief,” Hanta replied, quieter this time. 

It was the first time Zuko had witnessed Sokka be anything but gentle with his people. He had to admit, it kind of did it for him.

“We’ll keep him in protective custody, here in the palace, until this is all over,” Sokka told Shila. “Treat him well, make him comfortable, but do not get lax with him. He’s still considered a perpetrator.”

“Understood,” Shila nodded.

Sokka stood and motioned for Zuko to follow him. Guards filed in as they left the room. Sokka paused, just outside the doorway rubbing his head and groaning. 

“Let’s have lunch in my rooms,” Sokka said. “Then I’m taking a nap because I deserve it after the last twenty-four hours, and _then_ we’ll gather the others and plan.

* * *

Sokka’s rooms were thankfully, blessedly empty. The others must have cleared out once Sokka had left to interrogate Hanta.

There was no residual tension between them as they, but Zuko was itching to apologize for his behavior that morning. They were finished with lunch and Sokka was standing, stretching, and about to head into his room for a nap when Zuko stopped him.

“Sokka. I need to...I just wanted to say. I’m sorry about earlier,” Zuko began quietly. 

Sokka held his hands out. “It’s fine,” he promised. 

“It’s not fine,” Zuko said, shaking his head. “I overreacted and I yelled at you. It was out of line. Both as your employee _and_ as your friend.” 

“Tensions are high right now. I get it, okay?”

“They are. But, still. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you can’t take care of yourself. I know you can. So I’m sorry for that and for raising my voice. I still have a temper, but I’m working on it,” Zuko apologized.

“Well. Then I accept your apology. And _I_ apologize for being such a stubborn ass about all of this,” Sokka added.

“Yeah, you find more and more ways each day to prove to me what a self-sacrificing asshole you are,” Zuko muttered, though there was no heat behind it. 

“Oh, I am. But I’m sure I’m nowhere near the worst you’ve had to deal with in your line of work.”

“You’re not in the slightest. It’s just...it’s different this time because it’s so...personal,” Zuko confessed. 

“And by ‘personal’ you mean…,” Sokka encouraged.

“You know what I mean,” Zuko responded, quietly. 

“I do,” Sokka confirmed. “Though I wasn’t sure until this morning. But I still want to hear you say it.”

“I can’t,” Zuko admitted. He felt his heart crack a little as he watched Sokka’s face fall. “And it’s not because I don’t want to. I can’t, until this is all over,” Zuko amended. “I can’t be your bodyguard and be your _something_ else. 

Sokka folded his arms across his chest. “That’s annoyingly noble of you.” But he said it with a fond, secret smile that held all sorts of promises for the _after._

“I _am_ a prince, after all. I’m known to have my noble moments,” Zuko teased. “Now, go take a nap. You still look hungover as hell.”

“Noble _and_ charming? Don’t mind me if I swoon,” Sokka deadpanned. “Also, for the record, I’m glad you _finally_ decided to stop calling me ‘Chief.’” Sokka winked before bidding Zuko goodnight and disappearing into his room for a nap.

Things were going to be fine. They would arrest Kaskae’s circle, get Kaskae next, and then it would be over. Sokka would be safe, Zuko would be able to breathe, and they could all enjoy the festival. 

* * *

As it turned out, things were not going to be fine.

Not a single member of Kaskae’s circle was anywhere to be found. Their homes were empty and their Council offices held no trace of them.

When asked if he’d given them a heads up before his confession, Hanta swore up and down that he didn’t. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was something that’d been planned after the feast’s failure, but all Zuko knew is not a single person had been taken into custody that night. Meaning the opening ceremonies for the festival were the very next evening and Kaskae and his group were still at large. 

They had to think of a new plan and fast. 

There was no canceling the festival, Zuko understood that. But that didn’t mean Sokka _had_ to be in attendance. He could feign illness or something of the like and stay in the palace, where he’d be safe. 

It was, of course, immediately shot down.

“I should at least be there the opening night,” Sokka said. “Just for all the ceremonial stuff, make my rounds, go to a couple of the booths, ride the Ferris wheel. All that good stuff, then immediately go home.”

Zuko didn’t like it, but it was better than nothing, and he felt like Sokka was trying to meet him halfway which he appreciated.

“We would pretty much have to use all of your guards and maybe even some of your soldiers for security. We’ll need all hands on deck,” Zuko said.

“Yue also offered any and all of her men as well,” Katara added. 

Sokka seemed to ponder for a moment. 

“Listen, if we’re gonna have all hands on deck...why not make it a set up. A sting operation?” Sokka said. “The opening night will draw the biggest crowd and it’s the only night I’m guaranteed to be there. If they strike, it will be then. So why not set them up?”

“If you’re offering yourself up as bait again, Sokka I swear,” Zuko warned.

“Not bait. Not necessarily. We make sure all the guards know who they’re looking for and we start picking them off one by one as soon as they’re on festival grounds. We’ll get them there instead of in their homes.”

“This sounds awful like what you wanted to do at the feast,” Zuko said.

“Yes. But now we have someone who will testify when we catch the others. And I’m _sure_ if we get the others first and reduce their sentencing if they rat on Kaskae they’ll sing like iguana parrots.”

Zuko had to admit, it could work.

“You have to admit, it could work,” Aang admitted. 

“I agree,” Zuko said. I’ll go along with all of this on one condition. If anything goes awry, if this plan fails and one of them makes a move for Sokka we’ll end this by whatever means necessary.” 

Aang’s face hardened a little at that. He knew Aang’s feelings about taking a life, even in a situation such as this. Zuko was pretty good at exhausting all options before resorting to killing someone in the name of peace. But he had done it before, for Sokka he would do it again, with no hesitation. 

“Fine,” Aang said. “But only if it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Agreed.” 

From there, Sokka, Aang, and Katara were to go to Shila and Suki to tell them of their new ideas and start figuring out how to execute them. 

Zuko had other plans.

“I don’t like this,” Sokka said as he watched Zuko change into his black stealth suit, strapping his Dao blades onto his back. 

“This is what you brought me here for. It’s what I’m good at,” Zuko reminded him. 

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Sokka muttered petulantly. 

“I’m just going to circle back to the warehouse and see if there are more clues, evidence, _anything_ , lying around to give us some insight as to where they are or what they’re planning. If we could arrest them all tomorrow before any of this has to happen, that would be the best-case scenario.”

“Just...be careful, okay?” Sokka asked.

“I will be. I’ll be back tonight,” Zuko promised. 

“Let me know when you’re back. Even if you have to wake me,” Sokka said.

“I will.”

Zuko made his way through the quiet streets of the city, back toward the warehouse where Kaskae held his meeting last time. The warehouse itself was empty, no sign of anyone or anything left behind, once again. Zuko circled the building, just in case and was surprised to find a few sets of footprints in the snow, leading out to a path on the edge of the city that led to the mountains. 

Zuko thanked the fresh snow the evening had given them and followed the prints. They led him down a path that seemed to sit between two mountains and Zuko maneuvered it carefully and quietly until it seemed the footprints veered off the path suddenly.

It only took a moment to realize why. Hidden behind an outcropping of rock was the mouth of a cave. Zuko was unsure of how deep it went and he didn’t dare get close enough to the mouth to be seen, just in case it was shallow. He did hear voices, muffled and unclear due to the way they echoed off the walls of the cave, but he recognized Kaskae’s voice after his last round of snooping. That man had a voice that wasn’t very easy to forget. 

Zuko had to tamp down the urge to just barge in there and end this right here, right now. But he was outnumbered and outmatched. Kaskae and Liuna were waterbenders, Hanta had told them, and taking them on at night in an environment with water readily available was probably not in his best interest. He knew his best bet was to get back to the palace as quickly as possible to get back up from Shila.

Zuko made his way back down the path as silently as possible and all but ran back to the palace, banging on the doors to the guard’s quarters. 

As the Spirits would have it, luck was not on their side that night.

Zuko and Shila returned to the cave, flanked by her best guards, only to find it empty and without a trace of anyone, other than the remnants of what looked like logs from a small fire. Zuko tried not to scream in frustration.

They had been _so close_. He should’ve just pounced when he had the chance, dammit!

Shila just put a comforting hand on his shoulder as they trudged back to the palace. 

It had been a long day and Zuko was exhausted. Tomorrow would be even longer. Zuko wanted nothing more than to just dive into his bed and not come out for a solid twenty-four hours. Maybe once this was all over, he could finally get some rest.

He was surprised though when he _finally_ made it back to Sokka’s rooms that Sokka seemed to have fallen asleep curled up on the couch. His heart squeezed in his chest at the idea of Sokka waiting up for him. 

“Sokka, buddy,” Zuko murmured, brushing Sokka’s hair out his face. “I’m back.”

It took a moment before Sokka roused, blinking like he was confused as to where he was. Sokka only groaned and made a move to get up. Zuko helped him, lifting him bodily off the couch. It had been a long day for Sokka, too.

“You’re back. You’re safe,” Sokka whispered as he leveled Zuko with a look that had Zuko’s insides feeling the good kind of squirmy. Sokka seemed to shake himself out of it and mumbling a goodnight before slipping into his rooms. 

Zuko wanted nothing more than to follow him, to curl up beside him, and never have to leave.

_Tomorrow_ he reminded himself. 

Tomorrow they would end this and he could finally, unabashedly tell Sokka how he felt.

* * *

The festival was overwhelming, and even _that_ was an understatement.

Out of vigilance - or maybe obsession - Zuko had gone back into the cave that next morning with a few of Shila’s guards, but Kaskae and his minions were still just as gone as they’d been the night before. The cave went back fairly deep, but the only indication that anyone had been inside at all was the leftover charred firewood from the night before. 

He’d returned to the palace, frustrated but decided to exert the rest of his energy focusing on the festival that night.

It was all hands on deck. The festival grounds were crawling with guards - both from the North and South - and they’d even set up checkpoints within the city. Everyone had been briefed on what all four of their suspects looked like. Zuko was to accompany Sokka wherever he went, the Kyoshi Warriors not far behind. Aang and Katara would be around, same as Hakoda and Bato but he and Sokka had all but insisted they had everything under control. They even had an emergency distress-signal planned for if shit hit the fan. 

This was their festival. He wanted them to enjoy it.

Sokka gave another one of his rousing speeches before he and Yue cut the ceremonial ribbon over the entrance to the festival as the crowd cheered.

Sokka had promised Zuko they could be in and out in a little over an hour, two _max_ , but as they weaved through the crowds and booths, Zuko wished they could stay longer if it only meant he could watch the sheer joy and happiness on Sokka’s face. 

They laughed as they watched Aang let a bunch of the Tribe’s children play with Appa, feeding him treats and using him as their own jungle gym. He spoke with his people and with the booth owners, bought endless snacks - including cotton candy bigger than his head, and even played a few of the dumb carnival games. He even won a dart-throwing one, choosing a plush polar bear-dog as his prize and giving it to Zuko, the barest of blush hiding under his warm, brown skin. 

Their final stop - as promised by Sokka - was the Ferris wheel. They sat side by side in the little cabin, thighs pressed close together. Sokka was quiet as they slowly ascended, looking out thoughtfully over the festival and his city.

Zuko prayed to any Spirit or deity that would listen that they could just _catch_ Kaskae tonight and have it be done with. So that Sokka could come back to the festival tomorrow night or the night after that and actually take time to enjoy it. So that Zuko could come back with him and hold his hand through their dumb gloves and put his arm around Sokka on the Ferris wheel and maybe even kiss him at the top -

But Zuko still had a job to do. 

Once they were back on the ground, it was time to go. 

They waved goodbye to Aang and Katara - who were busy competing against one another at the water gun booth - as well as Hakoda and Bato - who were definitely more than a little drunk - and made their way to where Sokka’s typical carriage driver, Anik, was waiting for them. They wore their hoods and a nondescript carriage had been chosen for the journey as to not draw attention.

For that same reason, only Zuko traveled with Sokka. The Kyoshi Warriors had left prior to ensure the streets were clear, as well as the palace.

Sokka’s unusual quiet from the Ferris wheel persisted into their carriage ride. Zuko let him be. It had been an intense and exhausting week for everyone. They’d go back to the palace, rest in relative safety, and wait for news of whether or not the sting operation was a success. 

“We’re about to slow down, boys!” Anik warned them through the front window. There’s a guard checkpoint up ahead. He closed the window again, just in case. The guards would recognize Anik and let them through. 

Sure enough, a few paces up the carriage rolled to a stop. Zuko heard muffled voices, most likely Anik speaking with the checkpoint guards before there was the silence that went on for just a _little_ too long. 

Zuko’s instincts were just starting to scream _something isn’t right_ when the door of the carriage was ripped off its hinges. 

Before Zuko could even think of reaching for his blades or bending, he immediately felt a thick layer of ice encase him from his hands all the way up to his shoulders and from his feet to his thighs. Sokka’s wrists were bound by ice manacles as well. 

As he tried to burn through the ice with his fire, a mist settled into the cabin, coming from the opening where the door once was. Zuko immediately smelled a familiar bitter scent mixed in with the water vapor. Kravahroot. 

“Sokka, hold your breath!” he yelled while trying to do so the same. The mist was so thick he could no longer see Sokka, even though he was in the seat across from him, barely three feet away. 

The mist was clearing and Zuko had melted the ice but everything was getting hazy and it took him longer than it normally would have to recognize that the seat across from him was now empty. He cried Sokka’s name, trying to stand, to get out of the carriage, to do _anything_ but the mist was making him feel heavier and heavier.

His last thought before the mist took him into unconsciousness, was that he’d failed. 

He’d failed Sokka. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiiii...sorry for another cliffhanger but i'm just here to remind you that things are going to be okay...eventually 😉 i don't do anything other than happy endings, i promise!!  
> so chapters 5+6 will be the last chapters. the next chapter will be sokka's pov (gasp!) and probably the shortest thus far so I'll either post the two of them together or one night apart to make you guys sweat it out a bit 😉  
> thanks to all of you who keep leaving me kudos and sweet comments! yall know how to make a writer's world go round 💖  
> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a short one (if ~3k is short lol) and it's more of a leadup to final chapter, if anything, but I still hope yall enjoy!  
> just for clarity, the first part of the chapter is Zuko's POV and the second after the line break is Sokka's!

“ - ince Zuko?” A gentle voice coaxed, but there was a fog. A nice, comfortable fog, and Zuko was so  _ tired _ , he just wanted to stay in it.

“Prince Zuko, please, sir. You have to wake up. Something awful has happened. Chief Sokka has been taken.”

At the mention of Sokka, Zuko burned through the haze. He took a few deep lungfuls of fresh air. His head hurt like hell and he felt like shit, but he had to push through. He was still in the back of the carriage and Anik, their driver, had been trying to shake him awake.

“Sokka. Where is he?” Zuko asked hoarsely.

“I don’t know, sir, I’m sorry,” Anik replied, despondent. “They must’ve hijacked the guard checkpoint or something. I stopped the carriage and then one of them knocked me out. It all happened so fast.”

“That’s okay, Anik. Are you alright?”

“Just a little banged up, but I’ll be okay. The carriage is in even worse shape than me. They broke our wheels,” Anik said. “What do we do now? Where do you think they could’ve taken him?”

“I think I have an idea as to where they took him, and I hope I’m right,” Zuko said as he moved to get out of the carriage. “All we can do right now is call for reinforcements.” 

As soon as he was out on the street, he sent the biggest, most powerful plume of fire that he was capable of into the sky, their pre-negotiated distress signal. Seeing as he, Aang, and Shila were currently the only three people in the South capable of firebending and one of them was to be with Sokka at all times, it had been the perfect signal. 

Zuko waited a moment before sending up one more, then another for good measure.

Zuko had a strong feeling that Kaskae had taken Sokka to the cave he’d raided earlier in the week. He, Shila, and the guards had been incredibly careful to leave as little of a trace behind as possible. Something in his gut was telling him that’s where Sokka was.

He just hoped it was right.

He knew, however, that as much as he wanted to run there right this second, fists blazing, he knew that - not only was the mountain pass on the literal other side of the city - he was outnumbered, once again. He would just have to be patient and wait for the others to respond to his call.

Zuko was mulling over the beginning stages of a plan in his head when he heard the pounding of multiple sets of footsteps behind him. 

Turning toward the sound, Zuko had never been more relieved to see Suki, Ty Lee, and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors.

“Suki! Ty Lee!” Zuko cried in relief. “Thank the Spirits.”

“When you guys didn’t arrive back to the palace in a timely manner we panicked, so we came back to check on you” Suki explained

“We were already following the path you two were supposed to take back to the palace and when we saw your distress signal we ran like hell,” Ty Lee added. 

“They ambushed us and took Sokka,” Zuko explained. “I think I know exactly where they took him, but if we’re gonna finish this, we’re going to need Aang and Katara.”

As if on cue, Appa’s telltale roar came from above as the Bison, with Aang and Katara perched in his saddle, descended from the night sky. 

“Shila and more backup are on the way,” Katara called down from on top of Appa as he landed with a  _ thud _ on the snowy streets. “They have Sokka?”

“They do,” Zuko confirmed. “Not for long, though. I think I know where he is, and I have a plan. I don’t know if we have time to wait for Shila at this point. Appa will get us there quickly and between the three of us, the Kyoshi girls, and Sokka himself I don’t think they’ll stand a chance - even if two of them  _ are _ benders.”

“I don’t know if Appa can carry us all,” Aang said, looking guilty. 

“That’s fine. Suki and Ty Lee, you two come with us. The rest of you stay here and wait for Shila and the guards. Tell Shila that we think Kaskae took Sokka to the cave. She’ll know where to go. The cave has a small tunnel that leads further out to the mountains. Suki and Ty Lee will come in from the mouth of the cave and we’ll have Aang earthbend us through the back. We’ll trap them. We’ll have guards waiting at the mouth as well as the back exits, just in case anyone slips through,” Zuko explained. “Hopefully by the time you all arrive with Shila, we’ll have them defeated. Can you pass that along to Shila when she gets here?”

Everyone voiced their agreement, the other Kyoshi Girls nodding, and Zuko climbed up into Appa’s saddle followed by Suki and Ty Lee. As they rose into the sky, Zuko could see Shila, followed by a barrage of reinforcements, heading towards the carriage from the festival grounds. 

Zuko forced himself to take a deep breath. It was going to be okay. They were going to get to Sokka on time and stop this once and for all. 

As if reading his mind, both Katara and Aang rested a hand on each of his shoulders.

“This is going to work,” Katara stated confidently, though Zuko could see the worry in her eyes. Everyone on that bison loved Sokka just as much as he did, and every single one of them would do whatever it took to get him back.

“I know,” Zuko replied, then quieter, “it has to.”

* * *

Sokka roused slowly, head in a heavy fog.

He realized blearily that he was seated in a wooden chair, his wrists bound behind the back, and his ankles to the legs of the chair. He pulled at his bonds a little. They’d even used the good rope. Voices echoed around him. There seemed to be some sort of argument going on, but Sokka for the life of him couldn’t fathom what it was about.

Sokka tried to push through the haze to piece together where he was and why.

He remembered flashes of the festival. Katara and Aang laughing, his dads drinking a little  _ too  _ much spiked hot chocolate. The Kyoshi Warriors in plainclothes, fans well concealed, shadowing his every move through the grounds.

He remembered Zuko’s steady, unfailing presence at his side. He remembered the way Zuko had looked at him from across the Ferris wheel car. Tender and heated at the same time. He remembered how the last thing he heard before that strange, bitter mist pulled him under was Zuko shouting his name.

“Where’s Zuko?” Sokka grit out, clarity coming in so sharp it was almost painful. 

“Ah, so you’re finally up.”

The room - okay well not so much ‘room’ as ‘cave’ - came into focus as Kaskae prowled toward Sokka with a smug, triumphant look on his face. 

“Where. Is. Zuko,” He repeated, voice hard. 

“Your precious firebender is out cold somewhere on the other side of the city. Even if he wakes, they’ll have a whole city to comb to try to find you. And as you can so clearly see, we are no longer in the city,” Kaskae motioned to the vast cave behind them, arrogantly. That arrogance would be his downfall. “This cave is hidden in the mountains bordering the city. It will take time for the Prince to wake up, and even longer for him to find you. By then, it will be too late.”

Ah. So they were villain-monologuing now.

They were in the cave that Zuko had told him about. That Zuko and Sokka’s guards had raided. 

His effects were in the corner of the room, parka included. These assholes were trying to freeze him out. Sokka had been all but armed to the teeth under his jacket; sword, an array of knives that had been hidden in his clothes and boots, and even his trusty boomerang. It was all gone now. They’d been smart enough to take his boots, though kind enough to leave his wool socks on. It was the little things.

Zuko would know where he was, he told himself. Zuko would come for him. He knew it in his  _ bones _ . And if Zuko came, the others would follow. He was going to make it. He was going to live through this and then Kaskae and the others would get what they deserved. He just had to distract them for a bit. 

“You know, this is actually so boring and predictable. I was kind of hoping it wouldn’t be you, that it would be some surprise villain or - oh! - a jaded ex. We suspected it was you from the start,” Sokka egged him on. “My political opponent, the man I beat out, wants me dead. Big surprise.”

Sokka saw the tick in Kaskae’s jaw that meant Sokka’s words were getting to him. Good.

“I realized that maybe assassinating you wasn’t my best course of action, especially if I wanted to take over as Chief,” Kaskae allowed. “If word got out that I was the one responsible for their  _ beloved  _ Chief’s death...well. I don’t think that’s something I’d recover from.”

“Um, not to mention you’d be either in prison or murdered by my sister and slash or guards!” Soka replied, incredulous. “You’re truly unhinged if you thought there would be no consequences to my death.”

“I knew there would be consequences,” Kaskae admitted.

Sokka huffed in disbelief, remembering what Hanta had told them. “You just didn’t think  _ you’d _ be the one to face the consequences, huh?”

Kaskae's face hardened even more. Sokka turned his attention to Amaruq who, along with Kallik and Liuna, had spent the entire exchange in the background. While Kallik and Liuna looked just as pompous as Kaskae, Amaruq’s demeanor and body language suggested otherwise. His arms were crossed and his shoulders hunched. He had a look on his face like he might be sick.

“Did he tell you,” Sokka said to Amaruq, “that in the end, his grand scheme was to blame my assassination on you and Hanta?”

The expression of shock and betrayal that crossed Amaruq’s face stated that he - as Sokka suspected - did  _ not. _

“Don’t believe a word he says,” Kaskae growled. “He’s just trying to get you on his side.”

“Then who are you going to pin the blame on? The Northerners? Not exactly smart to incite a civil war with a nation more established than us when your position as the Chief would already be rocky following my death,” Sokka countered. “And did he tell you that he plans to disband the democracy we worked so hard, fought against the North, for? Even if he didn’t find way to throw you under the bus, your days as a Councilor would be long over.”

The news seemed to only surprise Amaruq. The other two didn’t flinch. They must have known. 

“Ah. So you talked to Hanta,” Kaskae stated, sounding unsurprised. “He’s been leery of my plans since the beginning. I should have known he’d be the one to break. Personally, I thought it would’ve been Amaruq, seeing how  _ fond _ he is of you, but I suppose he knows better than to cross the one who holds his fate in his hands.

“You’re right, though,” Kaskae continued. “It  _ wouldn’t _ be smart to blame all of this on the Northerners, or even Hanta and Amaruq. Amaruq will be rewarded for his loyalty. Hanta will die for his betrayal. I suppose I should thank you, in the end. You gave me the perfect scapegoat for my plan. But I supposed that’s what you get for bringing a firebender, and the prince of the Fire Nation himself, to the South Pole.”

Sokka’s stomach dropped at what Kaskae was insinuating. The fucker only grinned.

“Wouldn’t that paint a truly beautiful picture? You, dead, and the man who loves you so much that he broadcasts it to your entire tribe on trial for your murder. He’d live the rest of his life imprisoned, knowing he failed you,” Kaskae goaded. “It wouldn’t be the first time a firebender murdered someone in your family, would it?”

“Don’t bring my mother into this,” Sokka spat. “That was a  _ fluke _ .” 

It had been. Sokka would never forget. A rogue firebender had attacked and killed Kya while she and Hakoda were at what was supposed to be a peaceful summit of the Four Nations. The bender was working with an underground Sozin loyalist group whose goal was to plunge the world back into the war that those very same leaders had worked so hard to end. Sokka had been a child and while he may have needlessly blamed firebenders then, once the initial grief passed, he had learned better.

“Maybe it was,” Kaskae agreed. “Your nation forgave the Fire Nation for its crimes once, then twice. For the war, then for your mother’s death. There are still many people in the Tribe who do not trust the Fire Nation and who nurse their old wounds. The Prince of the Fire Nation himself is no better sacrifice.”

“Aang would never let that happen,” Sokka said.

“The Avatar only has so much influence. Once the mob mentality against Zuko starts, even your bleeding-heart Avatar won’t be able to stop them.”

“Why tell me all of this? Why not just kill me,” Sokka asked. 

“Because I would like to end this as cleanly as possible, with as little bloodshed and collateral damage for me,” Kaskae explained.

“And how are you proposing we do that?” Sokka deadpanned.

“You abdicate the throne,” Kaskae stated simply. 

“Are you actually insane?” Sokka asked.

“I’m not in the slightest. It’s the cleanest way out of this, for all of us. If you renounce the throne and name me the new Chief, you and your Prince get to run off to wherever you want and live happily ever after.”

“You truly are insane if you think I would ever peacefully hand over the throne to you in any other way other than from a fair election. If you truly want to be Chief so bad, why don’t you just run against me again in four years as any other normal person would?” Sokka challenged. “It’s because you know you’d lose.”

Kaskae took a deep breath, then shook his head.

“Oh, Sokka. Don’t say I didn’t try to reason with you,” Kaskae said as if him giving Sokka the choice between being murdered and abdicating his position as Chief was a  _ reasonable _ choice.  “Now you will die and the man you love will suffer for it in every way imaginable. I’ll make sure he lives a long, healthy life. So that he can think of you  _ every single day _ and know he lives and you are cold and dead in the ground because he failed,” Kaskae said, voice bordering on maniacal. “And he will have to live with the fact that  _ I  _ took your place, that  _ I _ am the Chief, unquestioned and unencumbered because it is my divine right - ”

A rumbling from within the mountain cut Kaskae’s rampage off and Sokka thanked the Spirits for it because it was really getting a little old. 

Kaskae turned back towards Sokka, rage etched into every line of his face. “You little - ”

Sokka didn’t get to hear what kind of “ _little_ ” he was because the far wall of the cave, where the small tunnel that apparently led out deeper into the mountains lie, was blasted inward like it’d been hit by an explosive. 

All Sokka could see through the rubble was a glowing set of eyes and arrow tattoos. As the dust settled, Aang led the group, flanked by Katara and Zuko. All three of them looking beyond pissed and into straight-up  _ enraged _ territory.

One of them sent a careful whip of fire Sokka’s way, slicing through his ropes in one easy move. 

Arms free and his backup here, Sokka just grinned at his captors. 

“Oh, you guys are  _ so _ fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter will be posted by early morning (aka 0000-0200am) of 10/23 at the latest!! one chapter left!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say hi and thank you for all your lovely/fun/hilarious comments on the last few chapters. Reading them gives me so much serotonin it’s not even funny lmao
> 
> Anway! Thank you for reading and for making it this far, whether you’ve been here since chapter one or if you’re just joining now that it’s complete. I appreciate all your love and kudos! Hope the last chapter is what yall were hoping for! 💖
> 
> [e] 10/27/20 - if you're re-reading, know there's been a small change in the sentencing, mostly due to [this conversation](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/357306451) with one of my readers! i always, always urge yall to bring up any concerns you have with the real-world implications of the content in my fics as long as you do so politely and in a constructive way!

Aang broke through the wall of the cave in full-blown Avatar state, and chaos ensued. 

Zuko’s attention immediately - of course - went to Sokka who was bound to a chair, stripped of his jacket, boots, and weapons. Zuko sent a careful lash of fire towards his bonds, breaking them easily, before heading straight to Kaskae.

To his credit, Kaskae stood his ground. Amaruq seemed to back himself into the corner of the cave and the other two tried to make a run for the cave’s main entrance before they realized the two women blocking their exit were Kyoshi warriors. 

Liuna struck out at them with a whip of water from a pouch at her hip, but Katara intercepted and began to take her on, Aang by her side, while Ty Lee and Suki focused on Kallik. 

It may have made more sense for Aang to be the one to take Kaskae on, but Zuko felt he had a personal score to settle with the man. Perhaps he was outmatched in the sense that he was a firebender fighting a waterbender under a waning moon at night, but Zuko made up for it in skill and determination to make this man _pay._

Zuko lashed out, fire against water, turning most of Kaskae’s attacks straight into vapor. It had been a long time since Zuko had used anger as his source for his bending, but he felt as if though the fury he felt towards Kaskae in the moment made his fire all that much stronger. 

Still, Kaskae was giving it his all, slowly slipping into almost desperation as they fought, which only made him sloppy. Despite the emotions charging his fighting, Zuko was focused and centered.

Kaskae threw shards of ice like daggers, most of which Zuko melted easily, though one came so close he felt the cool air of it as it grazed his cheek. It drew blood, but it wasn’t deep. Zuko countered by throwing punch after punch of fire at Kaskae, not to kill or even maim, but to back him into a corner where he could be more easily subdued.

He saw Aang out of the corner of his eye facing off against Liuna with the help of Katara, Kallik already subdued by the girls and in makeshift stone cuffs bended by Aang. He’d never actually seen Aang in the Avatar State, but it was as pants-shittingly terrifying as he’d expected it to be. He bended every element with ease, going at Liuna with all he had. Katara had become quite the master herself, and Zuko deduced there were few others who could keep up with Aang the way she did. It wouldn’t be long before they had her in cuffs, too. 

He tracked Sokka on the other side of the cave taking on Amaruq with his sword. Amaruq seemed to be defending instead of actively fighting and he looked like he was trying to reason with Sokka. Sokka was having none of it.

Thanks to his distraction, Kaskae got in one good shot, his stream of water hitting Zuko low and knocking him back on his ass. In the time it took Zuko to catch his breath, Kaskae was looming over him a victorious smile plastered on his face. Zuko was gearing up to fight back when a _thud_ sounded. Kaskae groaned as he jerked forward, then fell to the ground. Zuko rolled out of Kaskae’s path and his eyes focused on Sokka in the distance, holding his boomerang proudly in his hand. 

“Hey, I can’t let you guys have all the fun,” Sokka said with a grin. 

Zuko started to laugh, incredulous at Sokka’s ability to weasel his humor into _literally_ every situation but he heard Kaskae stir beside him. He moved quickly, pinning the man’s arms to the ground with his knees and pulling his Dao blades out.

He crossed them at Kaskae’s neck threateningly, in a near mirror to the position he’d had Sokka in earlier that week. For the first time since they’d burst through the wall and into the cave, Zuko saw fear in Kaskae’s eyes. Good.

“Zuko,” Aang’s sage voice warned behind him. And he knew what Aang was warning him against.

He could kill him. He _should_ kill him. Zuko realized, with terrifying clarity, that he _wanted_ to kill him for having the wherewithal to even _think_ of killing Sokka. His Dao blades were right there, at the man’s throat, the blades grazing the pulse points on either side of his neck. He pushed them infinitesimally closer to the man’s jugular, enough to break the skin just a little.

“Zuko,” Sokka’s soft voice echoed behind him. 

Just like that, Zuko’s rage deflated. Sokka’s large, gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder and Zuko consolidated his blades into one hand, using the free one to rest over Sokka’s. Sokka linked their fingers together and squeezed.

With Sokka’s help, he grabbed Kaskae off the floor as Aang made quick work of creating one last set of makeshift stone cuffs to hold them over until Shila got there with the real deal and the armored carriage to escort them away in. 

It was over incredibly, almost laughably, quickly, especially considering the leadup. But Zuko supposed that’s what happened when you had some of the most powerful people in the world - not to mention a fully-realized Avatar in the Avatar state, no less - fighting on your side. 

Shila showed up right on time, the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors as well as some of her fiercest guards with her.

“Well, looks like we missed all the fun, huh?” She mused and sent her guards to take the other three into custody while she approached Aang and Zuko where they’d been keeping a close eye on Kaskae. Shila immediately put him the heaviest duty cuffs Zuko had ever seen, obviously made for a bender. He was to be transferred to the highest-security cell in the city, guarded vigilantly day and night, where he would await his trial. As much as Zuko knew he deserved to be thrown straight into a maximum-security prison, the tribe _was_ a democracy after all, and had its customs. The other three would be taken to the guards quarters where they’d be monitored day and night as well. 

Sokka didn’t address any of the others as they were taken away, save for Amaruq.

“Why did you do it?” he asked, voice shaky.

“I’m sorry Sokka,” Amaruq’s voice was wrecked. He actually seemed it.

“You were my friend,” was all Sokka said before the guards led Amaruq off in handcuffs.

Zuko’s heart broke a little for Sokka. Having a group of people actively plotting against you was one thing, but having one of those people be a childhood friend was something else entirely.

He approached Sokka, placing a comforting hand at his waist.

“Hey. It’s over,” Zuko said because what else was there to say?

Sokka took a ragged breath before turning and pulling Zuko into a bone-crushing hug. Zuko wrapped his arms around Sokka, returning the embrace just as fiercely.

“I thought I’d lost you, I thought I’d failed you,” Zuko whispered, nosing at the shaved part of Sokka’s hair. 

“Hey, none of that,” Sokka soothed, then leaned back and breathed, “I wasn’t scared. I knew you would come for me.”

The way Sokka was looking at him, face so open and trusting and _vulnerable._ The way he said “I knew you’d come for me” with absolute trust and conviction. Oh _hell_ did he love this man.

“Oh, fuck it,” he whispered.

He yanked Sokka in for a kiss that was nothing more than a firm press of lips. There would be time, plenty of it, for more later. The kiss said _we’re alive, we made it,_ **_we won_ **. Sokka broke the kiss, only to lean his forehead against Zuko’s. They stood there for a moment, eyes closed, sharing each other’s breath. 

He heard one of their friends mutter “oh _finally_ ” and when they pulled back, Sokka was aiming a _not so nice_ gesture at whoever had said it, but still grinning dopily at Zuko.

“Alright lovebirds, think you can stop your necking long enough for me to look Sokka over?” Katara asked which made Aang snicker behind her.

“Oh like you two can talk!” Sokka puffed. “You’ve both been insufferable since you got together _over a decade ago_. I’m allowed to have a moment with my hot bodyguard without you all teasing me for it.”

“Yeah, yeah, now come here,” Katara directed. She looked him over and other than some irritation at his wrists from his bonds he was pretty much unscathed, as were the rest of them. Zuko’s worst injury, save for the nick on his face, was probably just going to be the bruise on his ass from when Kaskae knocked him over.

Everyone else filed out shortly thereafter and Aang flew them back to the palace on Appa. They bid the other couple goodnight as they parted to their respective rooms, Sokka warning them that he was not, under _any_ circumstances, getting out of bed before noon the following day. They could all reconvene and celebrate tomorrow once they’d all gotten their first good night of sleep in Spirits knew how long. 

Once they were back in Sokka’s chambers Zuko started to head to his room on autopilot, but Sokka’s hand circled his wrist. 

“Will you stay with me this time?” Sokka asked, blue eyes big and almost coquettish. But then he promised, “just to sleep. I have a feeling once I hit that mattress I’ll be out.”

“Yes,” Zuko whispered as if there were any other answer to that question.

Sokka just gave him a lazy, sleepy smile and linked his hand with Zuko’s pulling him towards his bedroom. 

He tossed Zuko a pair of sleep clothes, even though Zuko could’ve easily gone across the common area to get his own. Then again, Zuko wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to wear Sokka’s clothes either.

Zuko lingered a little as Sokka finished getting ready for bed, then crawled in under the sheets after him, just a little awkwardly. Sokka’s bed was huge and he wasn’t sure how much space the other man wanted or needed...especially after the day he’d had. Sure, they’d grown closer than ever since Zuko had arrived in the South but this was brand new territory for them and Zuko didn’t want to cross any lines.

“Oh, would you get over here?” Sokka groused, turning on his side and extending his arms out to Zuko. He scooted across the bed until he was within grabbing reach of Sokka who then manhandled him on his side as well, back to chest with Sokka. 

Sokka brushed Zuko’s hair out of the way, burying his nose into the nape of Zuko’s neck and bringing his arm to drape over his body and rest on his chest. Once he was all settled, he sighed happily which made Zuko shiver a little. 

“Hey, Zuko?” Sokka murmured just as they were both drifting off to sleep.

“Mhmm?”

“I…,” Sokka trailed off, then cleared his throat. “Thank you. For everything. For coming to the South. For keeping me safe. For saving my life. I’m glad it was you.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Zuko replied.

* * *

Zuko _did_ sleep better than he had the entire time he’d been in the South Pole. He still woke up pretty sore - yeah, he definitely had a bruise on his ass - but his mind was at peace. 

He realized through the pleasant haze of waking that someone was alternating between stroking his hair and outlining the angles of his face. 

Gentle, calloused fingers traced along the line of his jaw, sweeping up and grazing the corner of his lips, but hesitating right under the edge of his scar. Zuko must have shifted to his other side in his sleep which made him realize he’d slept scar side up for the first time since he’d gotten there. 

He stopped Sokka’s hand in its track back down his face as he slowly opened his eyes. He guided Sokka’s hand back up to his scar, letting his fingers graze over the gnarled tissue before settling to cup Zuko’s entire face. 

Zuko brought his own hand up to rest over Sokka’s fingers curling into the gaps between Sokka’s own. They lie there quietly for some time, Sokka seemingly trying to commit Zuko’s face to memory while he stroked idly at the curve of his scarred cheekbone with his thumb. 

Sokka was always beautiful, but he looked breathtaking like this, soft and warm with the morning light filtering in from the window behind him. 

“You enjoying yourself there?” Zuko teased lightly as it seemed Sokka had no plans to stop staring any time soon.

“I’ve been in such close quarters, unable to look at you and touch you the way I’ve wanted to since you stepped foot inside my palace,” Sokka explained, seriously. “Now I finally can, so I’m taking full advantage of that.”

“Sokka,” Zuko whispered though, embarrassingly, it came out as more of a whine. He shifted as close to Sokka as possible, threading a hand in his unbound hair and leaning in to kiss him, soft and sweet. They stayed at that pace for some time, trading unhurried kisses in the quiet of morning until Sokka decided to deepen the kiss, licking into Zuko’s mouth.

Zuko gasped, both in pleasure and surprise, and Sokka took the opportunity to grip Zuko around the waist, urging Zuko on top of him and between his legs. 

Sokka broke apart from Zuko, who couldn’t help but chase the tail end of their kiss. 

“Remember when we sparred and ended up like this?” Sokka asked.

“Trust me, it’s something I won’t forget,” Zuko replied.

Sokka chuckled softly. “If my dad hadn’t walked in, I absolutely would have kissed you right then and there.”

“I would have let you,” Zuko admitted.

“I know,” Sokka said, smugly. “Probably good that he interrupted us. You were right. It was best for us to wait to cross this boundary.”

“And what boundary is that?” Zuko encouraged. 

“Well...as juvenile as it sounds, I’d like you to be my boyfriend. Partner? Lover?” Sokka made a little face at the last one. “I’ll be happy with whatever you’ll give me.”

“Boyfriend sounds pretty good to me,” Zuko offered. “Though I should probably continue to be your bodyguard until the trial is over and everyone involved is as far away from you as possible.” 

“Ooooh, my bodyguard boyfriend,” Sokka cooed. “How sexy.”

“Please, shut up,” Zuko groaned, but followed it with a kiss. 

“Mmm, never,” Sokka countered. “And I know I said I wasn’t getting out of bed until noon, and I stand by that, but I’m not really as _tired_ as I thought I’d be,” Sokka punctuated that statement with a slow grind up into Zuko. “Think you can keep me busy for a few hours?”

Zuko didn’t even deign Sokka with a response. He just plastered his body to Sokka’s and kissed him quiet. 

Oh, he’d keep him busy, alright.

* * *

They did eventually get up, joining the others for a late brunch. 

As they walked into the palace’s dining room, hand-in-hand, Katara looked at their intertwined fingers and then between the two of them. Her eyes landed on the blooming bruise right under Zuko’s collarbone and she wrinkled her nose. 

“Ew,” She said fondly, then pulled each of them in for a hug. 

The others followed suit. 

Yue all but threw herself into Sokka, “You’d better _promise_ me the next time we see each other will be less exciting.”

“No promises, but I’ll try.”

She hugged Zuko next, kissing him on the cheek and thanking him fervently. 

Aang pulled them into a double-hug, sighing happily. 

“Does this mean you two will double-date with me and Katara now?” he asked, excitedly.

Hakoda and Bato were next, switching between the two of them. 

“Thanks for keeping my boy safe, son,” Hakoda said, pulling Zuko into a hug first and clapping him firmly on the back. “You’re a good man.”

Bato followed suit. “I’m hoping we’ll be seeing a lot more of you, huh?” He finished with raised eyebrows and a friendly leer. 

Zuko blushed both at the praise and at the insinuation before Sokka broke up the love fest.

“Okay, we’re all alive and safe and I love you all but I am _hungry._ So can we save all the lovey-dovey for later? Getting kidnapped and almost assassinated makes a man work up an appetite.”

“We’re never gonna hear the end of this, huh?” Katara grumbled, good-naturedly. 

“Oh, I am absolutely milking this for as long as I can,” Sokka agreed before digging into his food.

Sokka officially relieved the Kyoshi Warriors of their guard duty, but let them know they were more than welcome to remain in the palace for the rest of the week - or longer if they so pleased - to enjoy the festival before heading home, or to wherever the wind took them next. 

They went back to the festival that night, and while Sokka’s guard was still scattered amongst the crowd as a precaution, Zuko finally felt like he and the others got to truly enjoy themselves this time around.

Sokka won him a new polar bear-dog plush, as the one from the night before got ruined along with the carriage. Sokka then prompted the man running the Ferris wheel to stop the wheel for a “good, long time” when their carriage got to the top, throwing in a wink for good measure. 

As soon as their car was paused at the top of the wheel, Sokka grabbed Zuko by the parka and they made out like teenagers.

So much had changed in the last twenty-four hours, it was staggering. 

Eventually, when the cold set in, they all went back to the palace and Sokka broke out a terrifying amount of liquor from somewhere within the palace’s storerooms. They retreated to Sokka’s chambers and got rip-roaring drunk in celebration at the fact that they’d _won_ and that everyone made it out okay. 

They drank and laughed and overall just screwed around until well past midnight and into the morning. Sokka, to no surprise to Zuko, was apparently touchy-feely both physically and emotionally when drunk. He spent the entire night all but draped over Zuko and as things started to dwindle down, he gave a half-slurred speech about how much he loved and appreciated everyone and how they don’t see each other often enough.

“I don’t see you guys enough,” he whined. “We should do this, get together like this more often. At least once a year,” he proclaimed. The others chimed in their agreement, raising their drinks for one final "cheers." 

At the end of their impromptu party, all Zuko wanted to do was to kick everyone out, shut the doors, and repeat everything he and Sokka had done that morning, and then some. But he also had to admit that this, nearly everyone asleep, spread between Sokka’s huge bed and the couches, drunk and happy was pretty nice, too. 

The rest of the week went by smoothly and without any more excitement of the almost-dying variety. The festival came to an end and with it, so did the visit from the Northerners.

Yue had offered to stay behind, to support Sokka through the trial, but Sokka kindly declined. Though it was top priority, a date hadn’t even been set for the hearing as the Council was still on recess. Sokka very much appreciated the offer, but Yue’s people needed their Chief more than Sokka needed his friend in that moment. 

Yue left, making Sokka promise that they’d visit each other more. She added that Zuko was always welcome in the North Pole whenever he wanted to visit.

“And if you come, make sure to bring your new boyfriend with you,” She added with a wink.

The Kyoshi Warriors left with them, Ty Lee, Suki, and the rest of the girls making Sokka and Zuko promise to come visit them as well.

The palace felt weirdly quiet then, especially as Kaskae’s trial loomed. 

* * *

The trial began barely a week after the Council reconvened. It was quick and to the point.

Zuko was glad of it, too. The stress of it all, as well as the trauma of the kidnapping and multiple assassination attempts, had seemed to finally catch up with Sokka. He refused to go anywhere without Zuko or Shila and he’d even woken a few nights from nightmares that Zuko had to lull him back to sleep from. 

The trial being over, and Kaskae being locked away, wouldn’t necessarily erase the after-effects of what Sokka had been through, but at the very least it would ease his mind.

Hanta’s sentencing, as promised, was the lightest, first because he’d come forward but mostly because he wasn’t actually part of either assassination attempt. He’d be on house arrest for a few months while completing community service. Sokka even offered to hold his Council seat for him, which could be returned on good behavior. 

“Do not cross me again,” Sokka reiterated, similar to the threat he’d made when they first questioned him. 

The power and authority in his voice definitely still did it for Zuko, even more so now. 

Of the rest of the conspirators, Amaruq’s sentencing wasn’t so bad, a fact that Zuko could tell was a relief to Sokka. Even through the hurt, even through the betrayal, Sokka still cared for his friend.

Amaruq all but sold the others out - and called Kaskae out for his blackmailing - his testimony lining up perfectly with Hanta’s. He gave damning information on the entire operation without asking for anything in return. He was still going to be incarcerated, but he would be eligible for release on good behavior.

Surprisingly, Kallik and Liuna stayed loyal to Kaskae until the very end. They would pay for that loyalty by following him to prison, eligible for release, but only to be exiled from the South Pole if they received that release.

The Council and the Jurors came down on Kaskae the hardest. Hakoda had outlawed executions and the death penalty decades ago but from the verbal lashings the man received in the courtroom as he was questioned, Zuko had no doubt that if it were an option, they would have sentenced it.

Zuko was honestly relieved that it wasn’t. He didn’t think Sokka would be able to live with Kaskae’s death on his conscience, despite the fact that the man wanted him dead.

Instead, they gave him a life sentence to start in solitary confinement in the highest-security prison the South had to offer, deep within the harsh mountains of the South Pole. He would have the option, mostly by Sokka's doing, to be semi-integrated in with the rest of the high-security prisoner population, but would be kept apart from his co-conspirators at all costs and any misbehavior would result in a move back to solitary.

In the end, Kaskae had been right about one thing. Sokka’s people, and his Councilors, _loved_ him. They’d proven that much when they gave Kaskae the most severe punishment that the Tribe allowed.

“I still think it was kind of harsh,” Sokka allowed later that night.

Zuko looked up at him from where he was previously resting his head against Sokka’s chest, listening to his heartbeat slow from their _celebratory_ activities. 

“Sokka the man literally tried to murder you and overthrow the Southern Water Tribe’s democracy,” Zuko reminded him.

“I _know_ it’s just...lifetime in solitude. That’s pretty bleak.”

“He deserves it,” Zuko claimed. “Ugh, your forgiveness knows no bounds. It’s kind of annoying. I think you’ve been hanging around Aang too much.”

Sokka gasped in mock offense, and the conversation shifted from there into more pleasant topics.

Aang and Katara were to escort Kaskae and the others - along with what felt like a platoon of guards - to the facility, to ensure everything went smoothly. From there, they’d take Appa and make their way back to the ever-growing Republic City so that Aang could continue to take care of his Avatar Duties...whatever those were. They left with long hugs and promises they’d be back soon. 

Sokka watched them go, and Zuko could nearly see the little pieces of his heart that went with each of the people he loved, every time they left. 

Following Aang and Katara’s departure, Sokka was subdued the rest of the day, lost in thought. 

After dinner, Sokka asked for Zuko to follow him to his room. They watched the sunset, watching as it painted colors across the sky that reflected across the cold sea. The sunsets in the South were unmatched.

“I’m not going to ask you to stop doing whatever it was you did before coming to me,” Sokka said, eventually. “But if you decide, on your own accord, to stay here, know you’ll always have a place on my guard or in my palace. My ambassador to the Fire Nation _was_ talking about retiring in a few years’ time, y’know.” 

Zuko would have to consider that. It wouldn’t be a bad deal.

“I’m not really sure where I’ll be called to next, but I feel like there are parts of the world that might still need me,” Zuko replied. 

“I don’t care where you go or what you do,” Sokka said. “As long as you come back to me.”

“Always,” Zuko promised, fervently. “I don’t think being a mercenary is something I can do forever. I _am_ getting old after all,” he added, which made Sokka snort. He wasn’t even thirty yet, but there were days where he felt far, far older. “I, uh, actually didn’t really have anything lined up for after this if you don’t mind me crashing with you for a bit?”

Sokka pulled him into a kiss, laughing softly into his mouth. “Eh, I’m sure I can find _some_ use for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuko continues being a mercenary for a few years, coming and going but always returning back to Sokka. When the ambassador position opens up, Sokka proposes it to Zuko and Zuko proposes marriage to Sokka. They both accept and get married and Sokka is one of the longest-running chiefs until he finally decides to retire alongside Zuko wherein they spend the rest of their days tormenting their children and grandchildren with old man shenanigans. THE END
> 
> Once again thanks to all of you who’ve followed along as this has updated and for all your lovely comments 💖 this was a really fun story to write so I’m glad you all appreciated it!
> 
> __
> 
> Come yell about Zukka to me [here](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com) and I also made a post about the fic [here](https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/post/632711761286545408) if you feel like rec’ing it on tumblr or reblogging 😌  
> until next time! I’ll be back with another story soon. 💖

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [noble blood [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27329734) by [Rionaa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionaa/pseuds/Rionaa)




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